Leave Nothing Behind
by Ayame Dark Blue
Summary: Devil Survivor 2. Post Record Breaker Ending. It was her idea. Both siblings should share the duties as the Chief Director of JP's. What's the plan in case of emergency?
1. Phase 1

Ayame again. Let me preface this by saying that there are established spoilers for the Record Breaker ending of the Triangulum arc. I am a little more than annoyed that there is no character tag for Miyako here, but whatever. This fic is also being cross-posted on AO3, and is a work in progress. Happy reading.

Disclaimer: disclaimed.

 **Leave Nothing Behind**

Phase 1

Every day for Miyako starts nearly the same. Emphasis on _nearly._ It's the little differences in her routine that make her thankful for being able to start each new day alive and _breathing_. She goes to bed the night before, counting all of her blessings that she will be alive to begin anew the day, knowing one day could be her last. It's a methodical and precise mental checklist that somehow gives her peace as she readies herself in the morning.

Alarm goes off at 0430 and out of bed by 0445? Check.

Dressed and headed out the door by 0600? Check.

The goal is to allow herself more time than necessary to get up and dressed because she moves with the grace of a drunken snail in the morning. She has to allot time to tie her hair ribbon properly and she never leaves the house on an empty stomach. If Yamato is home and awake and _coherent_ , then she at least has to greet him before leaving the house. Her brother would most likely be at the kitchen counter, absentmindedly skimming through the latest reports from JP's, or occasionally a newspaper.

Ever since the siblings decided to share the workload as the Chief Director and Co-Director of JP's, Yamato's pacing had become much more leisurely. Not leisurely like some of his lazier subordinates, but a little more lax. His shifts would be ending as her would start, with either Makoto or Hibiki covering the twins when both were out of the main office. They were supposed to, anyway. Yamato liked to be stubborn and stay at the main branch longer than what was necessary.

Miyako had been urging her older brother to rest during the days unless there was some situation where there was a need for all high-ranking officers to be on hand. _The plan was_ that she would cover him in the daylight hours, and when the sun sets, the twins switch. Although she would, on occasion, find him in his office even during the day. Stupid kid. She had been trying to save him from himself for about three months now. Without her interference, Yamato would have run himself into the ground keeping up with all of the D-cases that have been popping up around Japan.

It has been exactly

Three months

Two weeks

Five Days

and approximately 12.5 hours since the Canopus Incident. Even though they regressed the world after his attack, and... time is all screwy technically she's not even sure if three months and some odd days have even passed, but that's when she started marking the dates. She honestly has no idea. At some point, Hibiki asked her to stop keeping track.

Even though they endured all kinds of hell to return the world to the way it was, the demonic plane still remained, despite them now no longer having the Administrator System. Maybe murdering their omnicidal Creator had something to do with it. They'll never know. However, Miyako would take dealing with demons any day over the Administrators. Any day.

At first, those that had survived Polaris' and Canopus' judgment had lamented their poor fate. After all that they have done to survive, and demons were not written out of existence. Fumi Kanno had theorized that perhaps the demons had always existed on this earth, and them undoing the damage that the Administrators have caused would not remove them from existence.

Miyako is fine with it. Miyako, and Saiduq, for that matter, have been reborn as human – rather, in this plane of existence, they have _always_ existed as human. She retains memories of her childhood in the Hotsuin household, where Yamato was always present. She remembers a youth that she had never lived, as his kid twin sister. Miyako doesn't mind, in this world, even though she was raised as the spare heir, she found a place to belong.

When the twins reunite after the regression, Yamato instantly instates her as Co-Director of JP's. He remembers her from before the regression. It's strange, having lived only one life, but having the memories of two distinctly different ones. For Yamato, even more since he's survived multiple regressions. She wonders how he doesn't lose his mind.

JP's still exists as Japan's main defense against the supernatural, and Miyako retains control over the Dragon Stream, so why wouldn't she command JP's in Yamato's place? It's not as if the agents notice, or care for that matter. Yamato gave the most freedom to those who've proven themselves in battle, like Hibiki Kuze and Makoto Sako.

She segued into their lives like she'd always been there. She thought most of them bought into the story that she was a family secret in the event of Yamato's untimely death and she would step up to lead the family in his place, but using his identity. Hibiki then insisted that she live outside of the shadows. Yamato suggested she at least stand by his side as an officer, since Yamato had already been well established as the Chief Director. She'd given up on trying to kick her aniki out of his leadership position. To be honest, sharing the workload was probably the best idea Hibiki had ever had. Yamato would be _dead_ now from the paperwork alone. He should be thankful Miyako even considered assisting him.

Sure enough, aniki was not at the kitchen counter today. Probably never came home nor had plans on coming home. Miyako made a mental note to kick her brother when she next saw him. She sauntered into the kitchen to toast a bagel and pour herself some cereal. Breakfast was quiet for about five minutes before her phone buzzed, loud shrill ringing startling Miyako out of her half-asleep stupor and she spilled some milk on the table.

She picked up the offending object and glares at the caller ID. Speak of the devil. "...Aniki?"

"Do you mind coming in early today?" her brother asked, straight to the point as always, "I'm falling behind on this paperwork and Hibiki wants me to go with him to the Sumida ward."

"Want me to accompany him?"

"No, not really." he replied flatly. She heard paper shuffling in the background. "You are aware of the recent fluctuations in the barrier at the Skytree? I wanted to just send Hibiki by himself to investigate earlier this morning, but a strong demonic pressure has appeared on the radar about an hour ago. Sending him alone to engage it would not be wise. If it's affecting the Dragon Stream, I would need to be present to ensure that the barrier does not fall."

"Yamato..." she sighed, " _You_ are supposed to be off right now." she starts packing her bagel to-go. "I know you want to leave me to cover the paperwork while you and Hibiki go to the Skytree. This is going to be one of these missions that will extend your shift by a half a day, I can just feel it. I can command the Dragon Stream as well as you can. I'll go to Sumida to investigate and if this demon proves to be too much, _then_ I will call you for backup...what have you classed this demon as, anyway?"

"According to the readings, just a B class. Honestly, Hibiki would be just fine on his own. However I've felt the barrier weaken considerably more since its appearance and am joining him with a team of agents only as a precaution, to ensure that nothing else damages the barrier. I would honestly rather you not question me and get here now, I must be going soon but I cannot leave until you arrive."

"Already out the door, brother." she confirmed. He then hung up. Typical Yamato.

* * *

She practically jumped out of the car before it had came to a full stop and sprinted towards the Diet Building, her driver instructed to keep the car in front. Her mouth was still chewing on the remnants of bagel she didn't have the time to properly ingest.

If this demon was affecting the Skytree's barrier, this was serious business. Like hell she was going to stand by and push papers. She, too, was a Hotsuin, and had a duty in protecting Japan.

Despite Canopus' defeat, and the fall of the Administrator System, JP's still relied heavily on the towers holding up the barrier created by the Dragon Stream. It was extremely useful in keeping many demonic nasties outside of areas heavily populated by civilians. The Tokyo Skytree, their newest and largest barrier, was especially valuable due to the large population in the city.

She hoped that Yamato would at least wait for her here before departing towards Sumida, so at least they could change hands. Although Miyako had no intention to pick up on where Yamato left off on his paperwork, but at least she could intercept the unit that would be going to Sumida. They wouldn't leave without their commander.

"Morning." she swung open the door to his office with enough force to rattle the frame. Yamato looked up, and appeared rather annoyed.

"You're late." he remarks, rising from his chair to meet her. Hibiki Kuze was inside of the office with him, reclining in a couch seat as if this threat wasn't urgent.

Miyako glances back and forth between her brother and his right-hand man. Her tone was indignant and full of ire. "I thought you needed me here immediately. You sounded like you were halfway out the door when you called. Was I misled to believe this was an urgent matter?"

Yamato shook his head, "It is. And yet..."

"While we were waiting for you to show up, the demon's presence vanished from our radars." Kuze spoke up. He seemed perplexed. "We cannot figure out why or where its gone to. There is no point in tailing the demon if its no longer there."

Miyako bristled, but her reply was quick, "While that is problematic, I do not think I am at fault. You could have left without me, honestly. What makes this paperwork so extra special that it requires a Hotsuin to be beside it at all times?"

Her aniki just waved a manila folder in front of her face, and she snatched it out of his hands. "You're going to need to read that in its entirety. It's a summation of all of these reports I have before me." Yamato explains, motioning towards the tall stacks of paper piled up on his desk. "That summary doesn't contain it in detail as these reports here do, however I'm afraid you won't have time to read them all. I am only about halfway through these myself. I've been condensing the most important details in that one report you have in your hands."

"I've read a few of them myself." The bunny hoodie-clad teen piped up, sounding proud of his meager accomplishment – actually, that _is_ an accomplishment for him.

"If time is of the essence, aniki, then can you give me the TL;DR version?"

He sighed. "You will still need to read that folder _at least_ before you head over to the Sumida Ward, but that documents nearly all of the recorded instances of the barrier fluctuations, as well as the time stamps, frequency, and the intensity of the fluctuations. The first couple pages are what Hibiki had thrown together after we marked that demonic presence."

"Wait... I can go with you?" she asked.

"Not _yet_. Hibiki and I are going to go ahead and scout the area, see if there is any damage in the immediate area. We are taking about four men with us, so it's a small team but in the event that the situation escalates, then our two best combatants are in the field with them." Yamato motioned to the papers again, "I want you and Kanno to continue to sort through these reports. From what I can recall, these fluctuations seem to be random, but I've only looked at the last few days in depth."

"These spots in the barrier's power have been occurring for several weeks, correct?" Miyako waited for his confirmation, then continued, "You want to know if we can detect a pattern over a longer span of time?"

"Any information that you and Kanno can glean would be of great use to us." Yamato reached for his trench coat and Hibiki rose out of his chair, ready to leave, "I've spent enough time here, Miyako. We must head over to the Skytree. I'm giving you until 1100 hours, then you and Kanno can head over to the Sumida Ward to take our place."

"Will you call me if there is a change in plans, brother?"

Yamato was heading out the door, but Kuze replied for him with a thumbs-up.

* * *

Miyako had enlisted the assistance of Fumi _and_ Otome Yanagiya, and together the three of them had completed reading through and sorting all of the reports on Yamato's desk and compiled them into a smaller, still thick but more succinct, single stack of papers. Fumi complained about how cumbersome it was for someone to sit through and read them and candidly expressed that she needed to digitize this for future use (since they may have to add to it eventually) but they had no time. They had only completed the task with 40 minutes to spare.

And to their horror, Fumi had unearthed even more reported instances of the Skytree's barrier fluctuation, some of them dating back several months. She surmised that there may have been more, but again, they had no time to look.

Through their combined efforts, they did discover a pattern. "To be honest, I am mildly disappointed that Yamato didn't catch this when he was reading these last night." Miyako states, "Even in the past week, it's obvious that the majority of these fluctuations have occurred at either dusk or dawn."

"They seem to have been increasing in frequency as well." Fumi pondered, "Chief, if you would allow me to hypothesize for a moment... Perhaps the increasing rate in fluctuations has something to do with our demon suspect's proximity to the Skytree?"

"That is one possibility, yes." Miyako mused.

"Continuing on that train of thought, the Chief did note that we had only detected the demonic presence. No one has actually laid eyes on the demon yet. So whether or not its actually in the vicinity of the Skytree is something we've yet to confirm. I mean, that _is_ why we are pouring through these reports. Preemptive countermeasures and whatnot." Fumi rambled, "Our suspect will show itself soon enough."

"...You think so?" Otome spoke up.

"I do!" Fumi confirmed, "It's only a matter of time. Speaking of time, we should join the boys at Sumida. Don't want to hog all this good information to ourselves, do we?"

"I highly doubt aniki can work with this." Miyako stated, "It's mid-morning. We may not see anything again until this evening."

She would never know just how wrong she was.


	2. Phase 2

**Leave Nothing Behind**

Phase 2

Miyako spotted Yamato among the crowd of civilians causally milling about the plaza. Even with the demonic presence having been detected in the area the night before, the citizens did not seem to notice anything unusual. That was not surprising. This was something beyond their ken, as anyone with enough spiritual power to be able to sense yokai had most likely already been recruited by JP's.

Yamato gave her and Fumi a curt nod. Among them, Miyako had Otome and a few other grunts accompany her to the tower. "You brought back-up? Excellent."

"You were supposed to call me if anything happened..." Miyako said, "I had only brought enough spare help so you can go home." Indeed, the lack of sleep was starting to show on her aniki's face. The darkened bags hung beneath his red, puffy eyes and he looked pallid.

"Nothing had happened, not _yet_ anyway." was his flat response. He jerks his head towards the entrance, "Let us go inside. I've something to show you."

* * *

 **-Inside the Tower, lower basement level-**

Inside the Tokyo Skytree, there is what JP's calls the civilian half, which is ground level and anything higher. Frequented by Japanese citizens as a popular tourist hangout, JP's is rarely seen in those areas of attraction.

Anything underground is hidden from public knowledge.

Not too much unlike the Diet building and the TV tower in Nagoya, JP's conducts its operations from below, where civilian access is completely restricted. In the previous world, Miyako kept Triangulum and Alcor captive. Now it is only use for research and housing one of the Hotsuin family's largest magic circles.

The remainder of the team Yamato had accompany him to Sumida had been situated in their command center in front of large readings, probably looking over the condition of the Skytree's barrier. They saluted their chiefs as they passed. Hibiki, and Makoto Sako, who had accompanied them from base, were waiting in front of the tall glass partition that was separating the command center from the magic circle they had in this tower. While this one was not nearly as large as the one under the Metropolitan Building, the twins had made this one to channel the Dragon Stream more directly into the Skytree.

Even from the entryway across the room, Miyako could see that the glass had a massive crack across it, spanning from floor to ceiling almost.

"Shiiiit..." Fumi swore behind her as Miyako could only gape at the damage. Her eyes were deceiving her right? She had those glass walls specially installed, chemically formulated with adamant, and they were fortified with energy from the Dragon Stream as an extra precaution, so then how...?

"What you are looking at has only been here for less than an hour." Yamato explained, "This center had been occupied by agents the entire time, and yet no one saw how this had happened."

"I find that hard to believe." Miyako countered.

"You can look at the video surveillance, but it shows nothing was near or around this wall when it cracked." They move closer to the partition, and Makoto salutes her other chief. Always the prim, professional one. "Chief Miyako. Look." the older woman points to the base of the crack. "Doesn't this look like it had been stuck by a blunt object?"

Sure enough, the base of the fissure had the largest web of smaller cracks trailing away from the epicenter, which was indented with the obvious pressure of whatever had impacted it. Based on the pattern of the tinier cracks, as well as the longer tail that had spread across to the other side, she figured that the wall was going to give from the pressure from within. The walls were meant to house the magic within them and any leaks could attract more demons to the area since they could sense the magic.

"But that doesn't make any sense!" she heard Otome exclaim from her side. She and Hibiki were discussing the cracks heatedly. Had Miyako been too preoccupied with her thoughts to miss what the were saying. Otome continued, almost as if she had been reading Miyako's mind, "With the fissure just appearing an hour ago, wouldn't demonic activity increase now instead of _prior_ to the wall being damaged."

"You would think so, but those agents have been glued to their monitors. We've haven't seen a spike in anything. I had even sent out two men to patrol the area just in case there was something our scanners weren't picking up." Hibiki flipped open his phone, "Actually... they haven't reported back to me yet. Weird." then turned to Yamato and asked, "You think I should go out there and look for them?"

"Not alone. I'm going with you." he stated, until he caught Miyako's glare, "or _she'll_ go with you." he amended, then under his breath, "Sorry."

"Okay!" Miyako claps her gloved hands together, excited that Yamato finally acquiesced to her demands, "Hibiki-kun and I will take the first search. I'm sure they've just gotten distracted. There are a lot of civilians outside today, more than usual."

Hibiki covered a smile behind his hands. "There is supposed to a concert this evening at 1900. The AiHina*** are playing tonight in collaboration with the Tokyo Skytree and local news stations." his smile quickly turns to a look of abject horror, "...wait! What if that demon shows up again tonight?! There's going to be too many civilians in the plaza to combat it directly if it shows up."

Yamato looked perplexed and sat down in a swivel chair and turned to the monitor. "My apologies Miyako. I'm not going to be able to go home tonight."

Miyako understood. She wasn't that heartless.

* * *

Hibiki had sent two grunts out to scout the perimeter at around 1030, shortly before Miyako had brought back up from base. They were going on an hour with no contact, and while Hibiki reassured them that an hour of silence wasn't that weird, with the damage to the partition housing the magic circle and the barrier weakening at seemingly random intervals, neither Chief Hotsuin wanted to risk leaving them alone. People have been killed by demons in broad daylight. It was probable that their suspect had reached them before Hibiki did.

Miyako pushed though the throng of bodies, Hibiki tailing close behind her. Even though both were clad in the black commanders' uniform of JP's, no one seemed to notice their presence. Even in this universe, JP's was hidden from the public eye and they had their hands full keeping the D-cases to a minimum and to keep the demons existence hidden from public knowledge. Miyako's apprehension about this case today was mostly due to the pattern of the Skytree barrier fluctuations that her and Fumi had noted, and with how Fumi had surmised that it could possibly be linked to the demon suspect's proximity with the Skytree... a chill went down her spine.

"Don't worry about it." Hibiki had whispered under his breath to her when he saw that she was growing anxious. He sounded calm, but the concern was evidently growing on his face as the minutes passed and they circled around the plaza, weaving in and out of clustered groups of people, all milling about and socializing, many of them high schoolers. Possibly gathered here early for Airi and Hinako's concert that was to be held later that evening. Miyako shivered again and prayed internally that Fumi's calculations from before were incorrect. Tonight would be a _very_ bad night to have to engage a demon in direct combat at the Skytree.

Hibiki eventually tried calling both men on his phone, but was not successful. "Both Ieyasu and Okamura go straight to voicemail. Not good."

"Hibiki, you and I are both stupid." Miyako commented, "We could have had Fumi track their phones."

A quick phone call to base, and Fumi berated both for their forgetfulness, and she spotted the location of the phones. "They are not together, which is troublesome." Fumi explained over the phone. Miyako couldn't see her, but she could tell her brows were furrowed.

"Why is that troublesome? Weren't they supposed to survey the area?"

"In any normal circumstance, no." Fumi response was quick and curt, "However. Agent Okamura has been stationary for at least 45 minutes, according to my tracker. While Agent Ieyasu is several kilometers away from the vicinity of the Skytree. And by several, I mean approximately _ten_."

"He's in _Chiyoda_!" Miyako nearly shrieked, gaining some odd looks from passerby. She mouthed a 'sorry' in their direction, then held her phone back up. "Fumi, that's not good."

"No, it isn't Chief and neither is my ability to hear now that you've damaged it." Fumi retorted, "Agent Ieyasu is also moving further and further away. At a rather alarming speed. Towards Ichigaya it looks like, but I'm not sure. I'm honestly not even sure if his phone is even _on_ him anymore."

"Explains why they didn't pick up." Hibiki muttered, "You think their phones could have been stolen?"

Miyako repeated his question back to Fumi and she could practically hear her shrug, "Let's not rule out that possibility. I wouldn't answer any calls from a stolen phone."

Hibiki peered down at his superior. "I'm conflicted. I'm not sure whether or not to go after him."

"I heard that." Fumi piped up, "Don't worry, I will continue to track him. I'd be more concerned about checking up on old Okamura. Make sure he didn't _drop_ his phone, you know what I'm saying?"

A look of complete understanding passed between both Miyako and Hibiki. A phone with the installed on it that was left unattended could be very dangerous. JP's phones were programmed to automatically shut off permanently if their user were to ever die in battle, to prevent the phones from going berserk. But if the agent was still alive, and left the phone unattended, it could cause issues if a random person were to pick it up and start messing with it.

Miyako hung up on Fumi and both started to make their way to Okamura's coordinates.


	3. Phase 3

**Leave Nothing Behind**

Phase 3

If Fumi's calculations were correct – very rarely were they _not_ – then Agent Okamura would have been on the far side of the Karamachi Plaza, furthest away from most civilian activities. According to her coordinates, it seemed like Okamura was stopped by a back door exit to the building.

Hibiki tried calling his cell phone again, and surely enough, a shrill ringing caught their attention. "Over there." Hibiki pointed to a small set of shrubs, "Cover me while I go look."

Miyako took a brief glimpse of her surroundings, to make sure they were not being followed, and slowly tailed Hibiki from a few meters away as they crept over to the only isolated area of the Karamachi plaza. She watched Hibiki carefully kneel down under the shrubs where the ringing was most likely coming from.

A prickling feeling on the back of her nape caused her to whip her head around, but the alarm subsided when she realized that nothing was behind her. Miyako blinked at the scene of the more populated end of the plaza, the people not really paying the two uniformed soldiers any attention on the empty side of the plaza. She relaxed a little and turned back towards Hibiki-

Eyes

The Hotsuin girl froze, a scream stuck in her throat as a pair of bright, yellow eyes, with pinholes for pupils, not one centimeter away from her face peered into her own. The thing, the demon, the _whatever_ the fuck it was being so so close to her she could not identify what it even was and her thoughts ping-ponged back and forth between screaming and not screaming and she was too startled and her blade, which was sheathed under her left arm and not cutting whatever the fuck this thing was and _why was it so_ _ **close**_ _?_

Miyako made her first big mistake this day. She blinked.

And the eyes were gone.

She was still stunned. Slowly her awareness of her surroundings came back to her. Hibiki was still hunched under the shrubbery. Miyako was too spooked to look behind her again. Struggling to find her voice, she called out to the bunny-hooded teen.

Hibiki poked his head up, his expression one of mild surprise. "You okay, Chief? Looks like something scared the shit out of you."

Miyako moved closer to the other, "There was..." she trailed off. How could she begin to explain what she had just seen? And on that note, how could she verbally admit that she let herself be snuck up on? Hibiki just gaped at her, waiting for her to continue, but Miyako just shook her head, "Nevermind...I'm fine. I'll tell you later."

He didn't seem convinced, but didn't want to press the issue either.

"Well, if you say so. Fumi was right. Okamura did indeed drop his phone. It's here." He stood up and stepped away from the shrubs, wielding his own phone and pressing a few buttons.

Miyako held out her hand. "I wouldn't summon anything here." she warned, "Even though we're far away from the civilians, I don't want to risk anyone spotting you."

"We have to destroy the phone, though, and I have a bad feeling about touching it." was his reply, "We can't leave it behind either. I don't know."

"You're right." she conceded, "Even though it seems not to be emitting miasma, leaving it alone here could be very dangerous. But I'm apprehensive about you summoning a demon in the middle of the day out in the open like this."

Another phone's ringing startled both agents out of their reverie. Miyako fumbled though her pockets and answered it with a terse, "Chief Hotsuin."

"Miyako." her brother's voice sounded groggy over the speaker. Understandable. He was going on 18 hours of work straight and a lot of activity had happened within the past 6. He spoke, voice low and sharp as if it carried an ill omen, "Is Hibiki with you?"

"Yes, aniki, why?"

"Good. Return to base. That demonic pressure had made another appearance in your general vicinity."

Miyako stiffened, imagining those yellow eyes and realization dawned on her that she could have been having a staring contest with the very same demon.

"...Miyako?"

"I'm here." she confirmed, then added, "However, we've located Agent Okamura's phone. He, though, is not here. And we need to dispose of this phone."

She heard her brother sigh. "You cannot leave something that sensitive there. Wait."

Yamato must have put his phone on speaker because then she could hear Fumi's trademark drawl on the other end. "Chief Miyako, I'm going to deactivate his phone from here. I'm triggering the Auto-Shutdown function such as if Okamura had actually died, but it is going to take a few minutes. Mind waiting there on standby?"

"Yes, that is doable." Miyako confirmed, and she motioned Hibiki to come to her, "On an unrelated note, where is Agent Ieyasu at this moment?"

"Hold that thought for now, Chief" Fumi said, and the sound of her typing increased in speed. Hibiki just shrugged.

"Aaaaaaaaaaand done. Phone is permanently deactivated." Fumi informed them.

"Awesome, so it's safe for me to pick up?" Hibiki asked her though the phone.

"I'd still handle it with care. You just never know." was Fumi's reply.

"Miyako, carry it with your whip." she heard Yamato command, "and return to base immediately. A complication has arisen." he then hung up, in the typical fashion that is her curt aniki.

Miyako undid the whip she carried under her other arm and tried to lasso it around Okamura's phone. It was tricky, but after several tries she had managed to get a hold of the clunky JP's model flip phone and hung it as far away from her body as possible. "My magic should protect me. I can channel the Dragon Stream though this whip if need be." she explained to Hibiki.

"Yes, I remember." Hibiki shuddered, recalling the incident with Aramisaki. She didn't need to remind him what she could do with that whip.

* * *

Upon seeing Miyako and Hibiki enter the Skytree's command center, Fumi nearly leapt out of her seat and rushed over to them. She held out a black metal case to her chief. "Put that in here." she said about the phone, helping her to lower the object into the box without touching it. Fumi shut the lid on the case and walked off.

"We never got to ask her about Agent Ieyasu..." Hibiki started, but his words trailed off on him when Yamato entered the room.

"No need. We've located him."

"Oh, good!" Hibiki exclaimed but Yamato shook his head,

"Not good. We've found his body."

Hibiki's expression turned sullen at that and he uttered a quiet, "Oh."

Not one to mourn the dead, Yamato continued, "His body was found in a dumpster in the nearby area, nowhere near where Fumi had tracked his phone. However, that's not what concerns me. His phone is still active, and heading in the direction of Yoyogi Park. Whatever has his phone somehow has blocked the Auto-Shutdown function, which I can only formulate is what had happened to Agent Okamura's phone." a moment of silence as Yamato struggled to carefully word his next sentence. "...I will be candid with you, Hibiki. I would not rule out the probability that he, too, is deceased."

Miyako could tell the bunny-hooded teen was taking it hard. He took it upon himself to look after each and every one of the grunts and had been personable with all of them. He was most likely blaming himself for sending them to their deaths despite the fact that it was a well known fact that agents often do perish during missions like these. "...I will notify Ieyasu's next of kin." he said after a long pause.

"You go do that." was Yamato's sharp reply and Hibiki made his exit hence. Then the older Hotsuin turned to Miyako. "I took a look at the scanners again and was unable to locate the demonic presence that was at Karamachi earlier. I am surprised neither of you had detected anything suspicious."

"Actually..." Miyako confessed about the yellow-eyed thing she had came into contact with while she was outside, "But it was only in my vision for a brief few seconds. To be honest, Yamato, I'm not even sure if what I saw was actually physically _there_."

Yamato regarded his sister's words and contemplated deeply. He ran a gloved hand through his hair, as he is usually wont to do when something has stumped him. "We cannot ignore that possibility, however, let us act on this knowledge as if this was an actual sighting and work off of it. The timing of your encounter matches that of our radar's detection, which is fortunate for our informative purposes."

Miyako mimicked her brother's actions, which was her own nervous tic. "What do you believe we should do now, aniki? Should we send a team to Yoyogi to locate Agent Ieyasu's phone?"

"While I feel that is the most sound option, I cannot help but to suspect that if our demon's motives are malicious - and they most likely are - then it's attempting to divide our ranks, or distract us from something much more worthy of our attention." Yamato pointed out, "But. We _cannot_ leave that phone alone. If there is a chance the demon summoning app could go haywire, then I want to have that phone confiscated. Let this problem not escalate any further."

"I suppose not, aniki." Miyako responds almost mechanically. "I will lead a team to Yoyogi."

"Are you sure you don't want me to go in your stead?" Yamato asked, "You seem...distracted-"

"I am perfectly fine." she sharply cut him off, "I am completely unaffected by that demon." she was lying, and Yamato possibly knew that but she didn't care, "Besides, Yamato, you need to conserve your energy. You haven't been able to rest since this began."

Yamato wasn't buying her farce for a second. "I refuse to send an agent out into the field on a mission when it's obvious she has been compromised. Have Dr Yanagiya take a look at you. For all we know, you may have been possessed."

"Aniki, if I were possessed, I would _know_." Miyako replied with confidence and at that Yamato smacks his forehead in exasperation. "What?"

"Those are famous last words if I've ever heard them. _Go see Dr Yanagiya_. I will send Sako in your place."

Miyako knew she could not press the issue further. When Yamato was frustrated and he wanted something done, it was going to be done no matter how she felt about it. It just happened so that Makoto was just as capable a field commander as either Hotsuin twin. She could trust Makoto to get anything done. Miyako just felt...she was unsure why, but she had a compulsive need to find that thing which had the eyes of yellow and confront it again. She was almost certain there was some reason she had to be the one to go to Yoyogi Park, and yet-

Without preamble, Yamato turns on his heel and leaves the room, probably to check the radars again or do something the opposite of resting. Leaving Miyako to her internal rambling.

She headed in the direction opposite, to the infirmary located in the Skytree JP's base. Where there was an infirmary, there was sure to be an Otome. She regarded her brother's warning carefully. Now that she had actually _thought_ on it, it was a possibility that she could have been touched or affected by that demon in some way. She could not rule it out. She noted that her sense of reason has been far less efficient that usual, but she really could not chalk that up to be anything else aside from ire at being snuck up on by a demon of all things. In broad daylight. With Hibiki several meters away. And she let it get away, which steamed her even more so.

So far of what she had seen today it seemed like their suspect was breaking the rules of everything she had come to know. And to risk a high-ranking officer such as herself to be compromised by the demon was foolhardy at best.

* * *

 **Chapter End Notes:** Places and locations of areas around Sumida and the like were cross-checked using Google Maps in tandem with prior knowledge of the general area, however I have never been to Japan so I may be off my calculations, just throwing that out there. IRL, I work in travel and am required to know these things for my job. But damn, Shin Megami Tensei will teach you a lot about the places in Tokyo especially. If you haven't played either SMT IV or Nocturne, I recommend it. You'll get a great sense of where things are after you get lost a few thousand times.

I made up some like "ability" for JP's phones and in hindsight it sounds like I bullshitted in that function like it was always there, but is it really unlikely that Fumi hadn't learned anything from the previous world and set it up so that this nonsense doesn't happen again with the miasma and the borked technology?


	4. Phase 4

**Start Chapter Notes:** So Phase 4 is a little reprieve from the Miyako-centric story. It's really fun writing the other characters interact with each other.

* * *

 **Leave Nothing Behind**

Phase 4

Miyako hesitantly knocked on the frame of the open door to Otome's personal office. It wasn't like the infirmary had a lot of people, a few agents here and there who were being treated for minor injuries from missions unrelated to this one. Miyako felt guilty for even taking up Otome's time with this, she was sure she was fine really...

But when the young doctor looked up from her papers to meet her eyes, Miyako lost her chance to back out. Otome advanced on her, guiding her to one of the tables. "Chief Yamato had already informed me that I need to look over you."

"Dr Yanagiya, I am sure that this is nothing..." Miyako started but trailed off, her doubt in the truth of her words not allowing her to finish.

"Let us make sure of that fact, Chief Miyako. I'd rather be safe than sorry."

* * *

His eyes were starting to hurt. Really hurt. He'd been staring at the monitor of the surrounding area, his eyes glued to the screen, not allowing himself to glance away for fear he would miss any activity.

He felt something nudge his arm. "Here." Hibiki stated, passing him a warm cup of coffee. Yamato nodded at him in thanks.

"I do not understand how you are still so energetic after all this time." Yamato blurted out, his head leaning on an open palm.

"Me neither. I've been on the clock just as long as you have," he affirms, taking a seat beside Yamato, "But we need to tough it out. Besides, who else is there to lead such a delicate mission?"

"Sako is heading a team going to Yoyogi in pursuit of that rogue phone and Kanno is tracking it from here, while also inspecting the phone you had recovered for any clues as to our suspects abilities. As for Miyako, I had sent her to the infirmary." Yamato took a sip of his coffee and added, "I want to make sure that the encounter she had had with the demon is not affecting her adversely."

"Do you think that something happened?" Hibiki asked ever so eloquently.

"'Something?'" Yamato repeated back at him, "I do not know for sure, but Miyako has been behaving strangely ever since you have returned to base."

Hibiki sat up straight in his chair. "How so?"

"You mean you haven't noticed? I've never seen the woman look so dazed before. And she sounds so uncertain of herself when she speaks. It's unusual for someone like her."

"I mean, yeah, now that you point it out, yeah, I did notice that sometime while we were out looking for Okamura." Hibiki admitted, "But how do you know it's because of the demon? She's probably tired. You forced her to read through four weeks worth of documents in

a few hours."

"She had help." Yamato pointed out, "And Miyako has been through worse. We all have." Yamato downed the rest of his coffee in one go. "Hibiki, you and I are tired. I feel with her that her odd behavior is attributed to something else. Call it a hunch. I still will not step down from this until I am sure she has not been compromised."

"Whatever, Yamato." Hibiki rose from his chair, picking up his now-empty mug, "I hope it's just your paranoia talking."

Yamato turned his face into his hand and muttered, "I hope so, too."

* * *

"Otome, have a look at this."

The flaxen haired doctor took the tablet Fumi was holding and stared at it blankly. "I don't understand what this is, I'm sorry."

Fumi heaved a rather heavy sigh at that. "Rather than bringing Agent Okamura's phone into the infirmary – like hell I would even consider touching that thing – I brought you the reports on the readings I had pulled from it. I thought you'd might like to see it."

"Why is that?" Otome questioned, then seconds later realized what Fumi was inferring to. She glanced over at the bed where Miyako was sleeping. Small sensors were taped onto her temples and the backs of her hands, wires leading up to a monitor.

"She needs to be asleep for you to check her pulse?" Fumi jokingly asked but then stopped smiling when she noticed Otome's mood turn grim.

"Everything was reading normally, at the beginning anyway. You know she had came into direct contact with the demon, right? There were initially no signs of possession or other adverse effects," Otome explained, making wide gestures with her hands, "As per our protocol, I cross check any demonic contamination using a demon skilled in healing, such as Lakshmi or Parvati. You know from experience that there have been cases where a human healer had overlooked something a demonic healer was able to detect."

"Makes sense. You aren't infallible." Fumi agreed. "Where's your demon?"

Otome didn't respond verbally. Rather, she pulled her phone from her pocket and presented it to Fumi. The other leaned in to get a better look at her summoning app.

"...' **BLOCKED**?' That's a new one." Fumi remarked.

"Every single one of my demons has this as their status." Otome began to rant, "Every single one. I can't summon. I can't fuse. They're not dead, because that is a different matter altogether, but I can't even access the Demon Auction and this is a real problem for me. Right after my phone started displaying my demons as 'BLOCKED', Chief Miyako collapsed."

"Iiiiiiiiinteresting..." Fumi drawled.

"This isn't funny!" Otome cried, "There's something wrong with the Chief and I-"

"Calm down, Otome." Fumi said, "There's a solution to everything. I'm going to SDTP with you. Here, have a Norn."

The professor started fiddling with her own cell phone, and a tense silence fell between the two women.

Then a loud beeping.

"Damn and bother!" Fumi swore, "My demons have been blocked too. All of them. This cannot be." Fumi turned away from Otome, "...I need my phone to be in complete working condition to do anything." she turned to leave.

"Could you send for Chief Yamato while you're out?" Otome called after her.

Fumi looked annoyed. "So now you can't make calls either?"

The two stared at each other. "...you said you had something to show me?"

Fumi just passed her the tablet. "Everything on there is self-explanatory." Upon Otome's confused questioning grimace, she added, "Okay, so I admit it may be above your intelligence level. Fine. A quick explanation." she slowed her speech down considerably. "This is the chart I compiled about the readings. These are the readings from Okamura's phone. The very same phone Chieffy was handling when she came in. That phone."

"Okay..." Otome prompted, gesturing with her hand for Fumi to get on with it.

"The chart is a visual. The visual is of the demonic energy that the phone had been emulating since Chief brought it to me. That phone. It's teeming with demonic energy. Know what else is teeming with demonic energy? That energy surge that was around the Karamachi Plaza at around 1220 today. Know what else was at the Karamachi Plaza at around 1220 today. Chieffy."

"Okay?" Otome repeated, albeit a little sharper than before.

"Follow me so far? Good. So, if we can extrapolate outwards, that phone, the one in question belonging to Agent Okamura, could be contaminated by the very same demonic essence that we picked up at Karamachi today at 1220. If we expand on that train of thought even further, one can assume that the demonic essence on Okamura's phone belongs to the very same demon Chief Miyako encountered. With the time stamps from the monitor that had detected that demonic surge in the Plaza from earlier, matching with the essence on Okamura's phone as well as the Chief's testimony, why, it would be unlikely that the three things are unrelated to each other. I would even go as far as to say that they are likely to _be_ related."

"That's...quite a declaration." Otome stated after a moment of contemplating what she had said.

"You still look like you're absorbing it all." Fumi chuckled, "If that is all, doctor, I must be going. I've got even more to investigate and a _phone_ to fix. Honestly, wasn't expecting to break something from a visit to the infirmary of all places."

"I truly apologize about that, Fumi." Otome bowed to her.

"Don't worry too much about it." the other mumbled, "It can be fixed. Otherwise, Boss owes me a new phone. He can afford it." she nearly skipped out of the infirmary, suddenly out of her sour mood.

* * *

Makoto wiped the sweat off her brow. Beside her, another agent fiddled on a similar tablet device. As per Yamato's orders, she and a team of twelve agents took to searching for Ieyasu's phone in the massive Yoyogi Park. It had been approximately 45 minutes since their arrival. Fumi was able to track the phone to the park, but when Makoto and her team arrived on the scene, the phone vanished off of the radar.

Mild panic ensued.

Makoto, being the most experienced and level headed of the group, ordered her subordinates to fan out and search for it.

15 minutes after they split up, she received a notification from one of her agents that the phone's signal had reappeared on the radar. Makoto followed that agent to the phone's supposed location, which was in an area of the park which was undergoing construction of some kind. There, they ran into another one of their teammates, who claimed that they were tracking the phone's signal which was headed east from where they currently were.

East from the construction area (which was in the general direction of South) was where they were led, following the phone signal until they found a few more agents on a paved walkway who stated that _they_ followed the phone's signal from the North side of Yoyogi Park and that it was heading South to Southwest.

And so for the next 30 or so minutes, bullshit ensued.

No progress was made, not a single agents scanner had read the same thing, and at times Ieyasu's phone signal would disappear off of their radar, or even worse, show up in multiple places at once. Makoto could count four dots moving around the park on her own screen at one point.

Eventually, she had given up on searching the hard way and had her team rendezvous in the most central area of the park. The various emotions of the team ranged from irritated to fed up and Makoto herself wanted to call it quits and return to Sumida.

"There's absolutely nothing, and I mean nothing I can do, Mako." Fumi's voice rang loud and clear through the receiver one of the grunts set on speaker so everyone can hear. Fumi continued, "I have been watching the exact same thing you've been watching. I tried to discern if there was any interference affecting the radar, but there's none I can see. Honestly, Mako, with the way our demon's been playing us, that phone is probably no longer in the vicinity of Yoyogi."

The crowd collectively groans. Makoto remained silent.

"Yes, yes, I know." Fumi said to the team, then directed her attention back to their leader, "You could chase that blip on the map all day, but you know as well as I do that it's a red herring."

"We don't know that for sure!" Makoto yelled, startling the nearby agents, "Chief Hotsuin says that the recovery of this phone is an absolute must! Do you have any idea what could go wrong if we don't find it?!"

"You guys called me like I'm supposed to know how to fix this. You're armed with some of the best tracking devices I had brought with me from Osaka. Be grateful." Fumi snapped, then disconnected the call.

Makoto gaped at the open receiver, ready to retort but the recipient already gone. Her brows were furrowed as if she was in deep thought but she was just really frustrated with Fumi more than anything.

She straightened up. Chief Hotsuin and Vice Chief Hotsuin entrusted her with this Very Important Task. Like hell she was going to fail.

* * *

Yamato cleared his throat so loudly that Hibiki fell out of his chair and hit his head on the floor. "That serves you right for sleeping on the job." he snorted.

Hibiki rubbed the tender bump on his skull. "Ooowww..."

"Get up. I have no time for this." Yamato snapped and Hibiki hopped back into his chair. Even though he was a JP's officer, he still behaved like an surly child at times.

"Are you sure? You really look like you could use a nap, too."

Yamato's resulting glare probably shaved a few years off of Hibiki's life.

"...Miyako's examination did not go as planned. She's currently unconscious in the infirmary."

"What?! Why didn't you say anything earlier?" Hibiki shouted. Yamato winced at the volume, and Hibiki quickly apologized.

"What could you have done?" Yamato chastised him, "With Miyako out of commission, it really is just you and I."

"Makoto is still in the field with her team. She just radioed into Fumi and that phone is eluding them. It's not a fun time in Yoyogi." Hibiki said.

"No, it is not." Yamato sighed.

"And Fumi had also reported the incident with her and Otome's phones in the infirmary." the bunny-hooded teen continued, "Have you ever seen a status called 'BLOCKED'? I haven't. It's slowing down Fumi's research without full use of her summoning app. You think I should attempt to SDTP?"

"Perish the thought." Yamato's tone was grave, "I shouldn't have to tell you the consequences of going into battle without the ability to summon any demons."

Hibiki just chuckled at that, "Reminds me of that fight with Benetnasch."

Yamato looked thoughtful. "I don't recall the 'BLOCKED' status on our demons."

"No, me neither." Hibiki admitted. "I was almost going to ask if we still had Trumpeter in stock."

"We do, but then everyone will _really_ be unable to summon anything."

"Oh, yeah..." Hibiki realized.

"Oh. Yeah." Yamato mimicked pointedly, then added, "I'm going to the infirmary for a bit."

"The double shift starting to catch up with you?" Hibiki joked, "Or are you going to visit your precious baby sister?"

Yamato's countenance screamed murder. "Neither." and with that the conversation was over as he left the command center. Now that the coast was clear, Hibiki laid his aching head on his arms. Tonight was going to be a looooooooooong night.

* * *

 **Chapter End Notes:** I'm copying and pasting this one from my posting of this fic on AO3.

In-game terminology, but SDTP: Summoned Demon Transfer Protocol. The Fate Rank 4 perk you get that allows you to send demons to and receive demons from the MC, but for story's sake anyone can do it between each other.

How confusing is it that JP's technically has two Chief Hotsuins? From the game, Otome is comfortable with referring to them by Chief + their first name to avoid confusion, Makoto refuses out of sheer respect (and embarrassment), Hibiki is just on a first-name basis *only* and Fumi ...calls them whatever name strikes her fancy at the moment. I find these, along with each persons comfort around the Hotsuins, is especially entertaining. Its telling how they react to authority...and those are four of the highest ranking officers in JP's.


	5. Phase 5

**Leave Nothing Behind**

Phase 5

She dreamt of pitch blackness, an all encompassing darkness that swallowed every sound, every object, everything.

She watched it cover her hometown, like a infection, fast spreading, enveloping everything she had ever come to know and love.

She dreamt of a spreading pitch blackness that erased every tangible physical thing. She recalled how much the citizens panicked, mass hysteria upon the discovery that they were one of the few remaining cities left untouched - but they would soon follow.

She remembered when the Void had consumed all but just the mere meters that she had left to stand on. Unlike the others around her who were in despair, she only felt complete apathy.

And she remembered feeling like _something_ was peering at her beyond the depths of the Void, watching her from within the nothingness. Beckoning for her to return-

 _Return to what?_

Miyako awoke with a start, clutching her now pounding chest. She was still dazed as she stared ahead, barely registering her surroundings.

"Hey."

Yamato's voice startled her out of her daze, "I don't supposed you've recovered from your impromptu nap."

Miyako stared at him blankly. "Um... aniki, what are you doing?"

"I had come to check up on you after I had heard from Dr Yanagiya that you had collapsed." Yamato admitted, moving away from her. He took a seat on the edge of the bed, "I heard that something had gone wrong with her own summoning app during your examination as well."

"So am I possessed?" Miyako asked.

"To tell you the truth, we have no way of knowing. No way." Yamato began, "Yanagiya's examination had gone awry. Her summoning app had been jammed."

"Jammed? How?"

"If I knew that, then there would be no issue..." Yamato leaned into Miyako's face, his eyes squinted in concentration, "I will be frank with you, Miyako... You have now become a liability to us."

"Liability?" she repeated.

Yamato continued to stare. Intensely. "Something about you can jam our summon app. I shouldn't have to tell you how dire that is."

"Oh." Miyako looked down at her hands, "How?"

"If I knew how..." Yamato trailed off, then backed away. "Excuse my tone. I know you aren't at fault. I have my hands tied in how to deal with this, how to deal with you..." he suddenly stood up. "You cannot be near any of the agents. None of us, until we are about to discern exactly how you are blocking our signal."

"I see. Well, if it has to be done..." Miyako sighed.

"But. I'm not sending you home. You are the only other person who is able to fight without use of the app. You are, while still a liability to those around you, still a valuable asset in combat. Thus, you will be dispatched on solo missions." the elder Hotsuin explained, "But do not thank me, Miyako. It was Hibiki's idea to keep you on duty. At least be of use to us until we can figure out what's wrong with you."

Miyako winced inwardly at how blunt he was, but Yamato was never one to mince words.

"I don't suppose you still have Trumpeter sealed?"

"Why on earth would you want to cripple my forces even further, Miyako?" Yamato rubbed his temples, "It's bad enough I will have to pull twice as much weight now that we cannot fight around you. *sigh* Let us get this whole ordeal over with before we're _both_ working overtime. You know full well Hibiki cannot run JP's as half as efficiently as either of us can. And you, you've slept long enough. I have something for you to do, away from everyone else. Get to it."

His words still stung, even though she knew that Yamato did not mean to offend. It was his brusque method of still finding a place for her in this mission even though she had been compromised, and if Miyako had been anyone else, anyone _common_ , Yamato would have thrown her to the wayside. It was for this reason she dearly respected her brother.

* * *

Before long, Otome gave her the okay to leave the infirmary, given that there was nothing else else to be done at the time. Whether or not Miyako was possessed, she was not showing any ill effects - blocking nearby demon summons aside - and besides, what else was there to do? Yamato was going to run himself ragged if she continued to be dead weight anyway.

Well, there was his assistant Hibiki, but the boy had been on shift as long as Yamato had. And when she had last seen him, _he_ appeared to be on his final legs.

Miyako decided that a side trip to Fumi's lab was in order to kill time until her aniki found something for her to do. Something more productive than 'reading reports'. All the reading in the world would not locate their rogue demon. According to the radio feed Fumi was listening in on, Makoto was having just as much difficulty actively hunting down the demon as they were tracking it from base.

There was no harm in Miyako being around Fumi at the moment, she was still demon-less and was a non-combatant due to her position as a researcher.

"Pull up a chair, Chieffy. We're going to watch Mako chase these blips around Yoyogi." She drawled. Miyako took a seat next to her in front of Fumi's massive monitor. (it was nearly a meter long, why did she need all this screen in front of her?)

"I've made very little progress in any of my research, I'll have you know. I hate you." Fumi began her rant, though Miyako was aware she was only joking about hating her, "So Chief Yamato has me watching over Mako on the big screen. It's entertaining."

Miyako winced at that. Poor Makoto. "I highly doubt that is her intent."

"Maybe not, but. But! Even though Mako and her team are failing hilariously, I am learning a great deal about what kind of asshole our demon is."

Miyako had to suppress the sudden urge to chuckle at that. "Oh? Do tell."

Fumi beamed at that. She normally jumped on any chance to share the profound knowledge she had gleaned from her research and was bursting with enthusiasm. "You missed most of my results because you were still knocked out. I'm giving you an extended explanation because you broke my phone. Good going on that by the way, you jerk."

Her superior snorted at that and Fumi was not deterred, "So, as I'm sure you know, Agent Okamura's phone is teeeeeeeeeming with icky demonic essence. I've extracted what is most likely it's sweat from the surface of the device. It's foul." she scrunched her face up, "...however, foul as it may be, it has given us something tangible to track, rather than the random energy fluctuations we were monitoring around the Skytree. I've given a trace example to Mako's team so they can better track that rogue phone in the field."

"Given how the phone's tracking chip is misleading them badly, that was a good idea." Miyako commented, watching the team's movements on the map of Yoyogi. Everyone was starting to fan out from the center of the park, if the positions of the small yellow dots were anything to go by.

"I'll say, Chief. Mako's team has split up from the center at least three times this run. They're getting exhausted." The scientist noted, "But I warned her that Ieyasu's phone may no longer be in the area. Look." She points to a blue dot in the west side of the park, then trails her fingers to another blue dot close by. "See these? Blue is the phone. Or, blue is the color I have designated as the location of the actual chip, the one in our phones that we track with gps. Look there." Fumi then gestures to a cluster of yellow dots - JPs agents - chasing a single red dot.

"Red is marked as the physical demonic essence. The very same examples that I had extracted from the phone you had brought me."

"A logical guess is that the reason why we are seeing multiple blue dots could be that the phone has been broken into smaller pieces." Miyako noted.

"That thought had occurred to Yamato as well, however," a poignant pause, "the tracking device within the phone does not function when the phone has been taken apart. When I first designed the hardware for our phones - in this iteration of our world - I had taken precautions against that as a safeguard to any errors that can occur from tracking agents in the field. So we can rule that theory out."

"Fair enough. Any human enemy would be wise enough to smash our phones and scatter the pieces to throw us off, so I don't suppose a demon is above that sort of thinking." Miyako stated, "Did you realize that during JPs conflicts with Ronaldo?"

"I did! You're smart." Fumi exclaimed, then continued, "Also from that same vein of thought, the possibility of there being _multiple_ demons had also occurred to me. Not like the full size, very real very large thing you encountered in the Karamachi Plaza earlier. I'm talking about smaller blips of energy. Smaller demons, maybe even familiars."

Both women shuddered.

"You sound unsure of that though."

Fumi looked distraught. "I _am._ I hate not being 100% sure. There is such a large margin of error. Also, another concern is that we may only perceive the incorrect number of objects. How can we really be sure if this demon isn't fucking with my tech and making the scanners go haywire?"

"Valid point as well. This creates a diversion. " Miyako declared, "Splitting up our forces using multiple red herrings, making us easier to strike at, or avoid, due to our confusion." Their eyes drifted back to the screen, where they watched a group of three JPs agents chase a red dot around the eastern side of Yoyogi Park. "I can see why Yamato only sent a small team though. We would be playing into this thing's hands were we to use more of our soldiers to locate this phone."

"Ugh, that's what's bothering me about this whole situation!" Fumi snarled so loudly Miyako jumped in her seat, "This demon must have knowledge that we at JPs never let our summon devices go rogue. Never. It knows that we find this to be a problem and will prioritize the phone's recovery. How does it know that a haywire phone releases miasma? How does it innately know that we have a tracking device installed in all JPs-issued phones? This demon is a supreme pain in my ass."

Miyako nodded in agreement. "I forget...what did Yamato class this demon as?"

Her question was met with an odd tilt of Fumi's head. "...did you fall on your head too? Chief classed it as a B currently given the strength of the energy readings... but I think that this is an A class demon because of its superior intellect. 'A' pain in my ass."

"Indeed." Miyako took a peep at the clock. It was ten to four.

"When did Hibiki say that concert was?"

"1900." Was Fumi's amused reply, "Oh right, those reports from the past few weeks show that the barrier fluctuations occur around dusk and dawn time, mostly. Like when that concert is going to begin. Oooooh boy. Chief Yamato is having a fit. He wants to shut down the venue for tonight, just to be safe. Hibiki talked him out of it, though."

"I kinda agree with him." Miyako stated, fidgeting with her gloves, "Think on it. JPs has kept the existence of demons hidden from the general public. Not only will it cause civil unrest and mistrust if we do, but it may also tip off our demon. It's made it very clear that it's watching our every move very carefully. We may lose our only lead at it."

"Well, true, it certainly won't reveal itself then, but then again, who's to say that it will reveal itself at all? It _must_ be aware of us because we are aware of it. See example A." Fumi flourished her hands toward the monitor, and a quick glimpse at the map showed Makoto and her team had regrouped to the centermost point of Yoyogi Park. "I am in agreeance with you and Hibiki, though. It may be at risk of civilian exposure, but we need to flush this demon out. Like, sometime today. I have stuff I want to get back to." Probably meaning some personal pet project.

Miyako rolled her eyes in response; Fumi's priorities had always been questionable at best despite the fact that Yamato had appointed her as Technical Director. She wasn't the head researcher for nothing.

"By the way, Chief, I've been meaning to ask you something... it's been niggling at me ever since I've left the infirmary." Fumi started, and her gaze shifted from the monitor to the her, "...I know it's a long shot, but do you remember the time before our most recent world regression? When we had fought Canopus to break free from the Administrator System?"

The chief furrowed her brows, "...vaguely, and with great strain. Being reborn human has clogged my memory with an entire second lifespan and I sometimes get confused which ones actually happened before or after the regression. But I remember Canopus. How could I forget?"

Fumi nodded at that, "Do you recall the time you were also Cor Caroli, and you fought the fourteen of us over the Administrative Authority we possessed?"

Miyako made a noise that sounded like a confirmation, and Fumi continued. "It had occurred to me, what with Otome and my summoning app displaying a BLOCKED status over our demons, that one of your innate abilities as Cor Caroli had also countered our abilities to summon in battle as well."

The chief's eyes widened as realization dawned upon her. That fact hadn't crossed her mind before. "...you're right. As much as I tried to forget I was once something other than human...however, I cannot recall how you had counteracted my abilities."

"If I remember correctly, we used Trumpeter with the Septentrione Benetnasch because it forced our demons back to the terminals, however the actual summoning app was not blocked - only the signal from the terminal to the phone, which is how Trumpeter's sound waves were able to counteract Benetnasch. We knew this because when we escaped from it we regained our ability to summon again. Trumpeter's own ability also cancels new demon summons in the immediate area, however it did not force us to recall our demons, so we were able to have only what we summoned in battle prior to the melody's effect taking hold. Bear with me, Chief, this is just background information.

When we fought Cor Caroli, your summon canceling ability, 'Asterion', had the potential to interfere with our summons. Had Saiduq not have been there to cancel out your magnetic field, our whole party would have been boned. I can hazard a possible guess that your abilities as Cor Caroli may have _something_ to do with our predicament."

"But I am human in this world!" Miyako exclaimed, "and so is Saiduq. I can't be causing the malfunction within the app, and even if I was, Saiduq was only able to counter Asterion because he himself was a star."

"Don't stress yourself out about it Chieffy." Fumi held up her hands in a sort of placating gesture."But you raise a valid point. Saiduq can't help us." She paused again, questioning the truth in her own statement if her tone was anything to go by, "I mean, I believe he had also programmed the summon app JPs utilizes in this version of the world as well. But I haven't even _seen_ the guy in so long. I'm not sure we've ever met again since our last regression. Might wanna check with your brother."

Miyako rose from her chair. Fumi had inadvertently assigned her with a new task, and at least she could be of use instead of watching Makoto chase dots around Yoyogi Park. Though to be fair, Fumi could also be doing something more productive.

"I'll speak with Yamato. I've also have yet to hear from Saiduq directly, but I have reason to believe that either aniki or Hibiki still keep in contact with him." and with that, the younger Hotsuin made her exit.

* * *

*sorry for taking a while with this chapter. Also sorry, formatting issues may occur since I'm on mobile.


	6. Phase 6

**Leave Nothing Behind**

Phase 6

"...Alcor? What could you possibly want _him_ for?" Yamato questioned. To Miyako, his tone sounded disgusted with her query. To be fair, even though they had defeated Canopus side by side, there was still some lingering resentment between those two that dated back long before Miyako was "born."

Not that she was going to let that deter her.

Miyako let go of the breath she had been holding, knowing that the mere mention of the former-septentrione was enough to sour her brother's mood. "Miss Kanno merely mentioned that I should contact him."

"Why would Kanno drop _his_ name, I wonder…?" Yamato's eyes narrowed.

Again, Miyako felt as if she was being scrutinized, "Well, it's one of her theories about my inherent ability to block the signal from your phones to the summoning terminal. She had brought up the fact that I was able to do that as an ingrained skill that I had as Cor Caroli."

Yamato snorted. "There's a name I haven't heard in awhile."

"Yes, well, as uncomfortable as admitting this makes me, it's something worthy of investigating." Miyako noted, "You can see her leap of logic, can't you aniki? That's why I would like to speak with Saiduq."

The older Hotsuin jerked his head towards Hibiki, who had been a silent observer during their exchange. Slowly, the bunny-hooded teen rose from his chair and moved between the twins. "Yamato believes that I keep tabs on Saiduq for some reason. I find this amusing."

At Miyako's confused look, he continued, "I _did_ talk to Saiduq after the last world regression."

"I refuse to believe that the two of you just _fell_ out of contact."

"We didn't." Hibiki stated, "How did you even come to that conclusion?" He sat back in his chair, "It's a long story that I will tell you guys someday, but since time is of the essence, I'll cut it short. Saiduq has been heading his own research of old seals and demons and astronomy and the like. Has been ever since the last regression. He was living by himself in Nagoya."

"Was? You mean, he's not there anymore?" Miyako questioned.

Hibiki shrugged in response. "Look Chief Miyako, you know as well as I do that Saiduq is a very elusive man. Even before the regression, he never was an easy person to locate. Oh, he'll pop up in Tokyo on occasion to visit Daichi and some of the others, but always at his leisure. He keeps himself busy with his research, and travels for it frequently." He scratches his head, "You know how air-headed he is at times. The man does not keep a phone on him now that Nicaea has the Ticos and Fumi as sub-admins. I guess what I am trying to say is-"

"You're not sure if he's still at his home in Nagoya?" Miyako finished for him, "But it's alright. You've told me more than enough, and I have somewhere to start searching, thank you."

Hibiki gives her the address. "I'm sure he will be happy to see you. He's always asking about you and your brother, since you can never seem to leave JPs and have a social life for some reason."

The aforementioned brother rolled his eyes at Hibiki's comment.

* * *

Miyako made haste in getting over to Nagoya (hooray for terminals), for it was quarter to five in the afternoon and she had but hours until the AiHina were to play in the Karamachi Plaza.

Unfortunately (or fortunately depending on how one looks at it), the sun would set around 1900, and as well, the barrier fluctuations were most prominent in the twilight hours. If, worst case scenario, combat were to happen, and she _still_ were jamming the other agents' summoning signal -

Miyako shook the bad thought out of her head, and rung the doorbell to Saiduq's home. He lived in a small single unit house, in a quiet area at the end of a long road, heavily shaded by trees on either side. The next residence was a 20 minute walk in the direction she came from. It was rather isolated, with no other landmarks but trees as far as the eye could see. And even though she was out in broad daylight, the amount of shade in the area made the air cool and the lighting dim. And despite the time of day, it was still unusually quiet for an urban area. This place was definitely creepy during the day, she could not imaging Saiduq being here by himself at night.

She would have to talk him into coming back to Tokyo with her. This was just some kind of eerie. That is, if he ever came out of his home.

Miyako switched tactics and pounded on the door with her fist. If he did not come out in the next ten seconds, she was going to leave because -

A soft tapping on her shoulder halted her movements, and Miyako resisted the urge to panic as that prickling sensation from earlier appeared. It was surely the _thing_ from the plaza, it had to be. Instead of looking behind her, as the tapping on her shoulder became more insistent, she slowly reached for the blade by her side, ready to face whatever fiend may be behind her -

Though Miyako's second big mistake this day was coming to Nagoya _alone._

\- the tapping sensation turned into a forceful poking, as if the entity behind her really wanted her to turn. Miyako was hesitant to turn and face it.

The poking sensation spread from her shoulder to the area between her shoulder blades and she clamped down the urge to cry out at the needless abuse of her spine.

Miyako quickly unsheathed her blade and swung it in the air behind her, turning her upper body 30 degrees to the right. The sword connected with something _solid_ and she saw something whitish flutter out of her peripherals.

"Miyako Hotsuin...?"

Miyako nearly jumped out of her skin at the sudden sound of her name being called, and she slowly turned to meet Saiduq, who _finally_ emerged from his dungeon and stood in the doorway of his home, gaping at the silver-haired woman who was brandishing a bloody sword -

 _Wait - how - when ?!_

 _...the hell?_

Miyako caught herself, and attempted to regain as much of her composure as possible, as much as what was left after Saiduq startled the bejeezus out of her.

Saiduq appeared thoughtful, as if he were slowly absorbing the scene before him. "Miyako Hotsuin." he repeated.

"...Al Saiduq." She greeted back, slowly straightening her body to a more poised - wait, her blade still has a lot of blood dripping from it -

"Just come inside." Saiduq finally utters and retreats back into his home. Miyako follows.

Nothing about Al Saiduq had appeared to change since the world. His alabaster hair was still as disheveled as ever and he still dressed in red and black stripes. His home, a single story unit, was littered with bookshelves overflowing with books. Typical furniture, like the couches in his living room and the coffee table, were covered in not only more books, but maps laid out, various smaller items like candles and crystals placed haphazardly around the room, in what she was almost certain would be an effective ward if Alcor would ever organize this mess.

Hibiki was not kidding when he said that Saiduq had been very wrapped up in his research.

The man in question was clearing a space on one of the sofas for Miyako to sit when she loudly cleared her throat to gain his attention. "As much as I would love to stay and catch up with you, Saiduq, I am running on limited spare time."

"Ah, yes, I expect you would be, Miyako Hotsuin." was his reply, "You would not leave Yamato Hotsuin alone to command JPs in your absence for very long, now would you?"

Never mind that either twin was more than capable of running the organization by themselves, in any normal circumstance, which this was far from being. "We are experiencing a rather annoying predicament with an unknown demon. I came into direct contact with it today and ever since, I have been involuntarily jamming other people's summoning apps."

Saiduq covers his mouth with his hand - nothing ever changes - "Yes, I can see how that is problematic. How may I be of assistance?"

"Miss Kanno suggested I speak to you about this. The app displays that their demons are 'BLOCKED' and all functions of Nicaea save actually viewing the status of the demons in the app have ceased to function. Miss Kanno spoke of the time I fought you all as Cor Caroli, when my ability Asterion functioned the same way." Miyako explained.

"I see." Saiduq said after a moment's contemplation. "Understand this, Miyako Hotsuin. I am no longer the Septentrione Alcor. I have come into this world born of human parents. Even though I have retained my memories of all my lives past, that fact still does not change that I can no longer control the powers that I once had. I can only guess that is why you have come to seek me out…?"

"I am well aware of that," Miyako stated, "I am also well aware of the fact that I am no longer part-Triangulum. I am no more inhuman than you. However the rest of JPs' resources are tied with dealing with our demonic fugitive. I am unable to assist them in battle while I am in this condition. That is why I have come to seek you out, in the hopes that we could figure out the root cause of this together."

Saiduq looked thoughtful. "...Miyako Hotsuin. Though you say that your time with me is limited, without the technology that JPs possesses I would take much longer to discern what is afflicting you. However, please, stay a moment. I feel as though we need to talk about that glowing effigy that was behind you when I first saw you."

Miyako was stunned. "... _what_?"

* * *

Ayame: ... I know for a fact I said last update over a month ago that I would try to post more frequently, then I proceeded to do the exact opposite. My bad. I got a promotion at work around that time and my working hours changed dramatically, on top of other things. I will make it up to you. Phase 7 is ready to upload. I hope a double chapter post makes up for a month of silence.


	7. Phase 7

Ayame: Same day double upload! Hurrah hurrah hurrah!

* * *

 **Leave Nothing Behind**

Phase 7

Miyako was frozen in place as Al Saiduq pointed a finger to her blade, still in her hand, still dripping with the blood of whatever she had slashed at.

"...mind repeating that last part, Alcor?"

The former Septentrione narrowed his eyes. "About the glowing white effigy that was hovering behind you? I didn't see much of what it was before you had swung your blade at it. It had flitted out of my sight before I could have a good look at it." He steps closer to her sword, kneeling down in front of it, "...although, I must apologize to you, Miyako Hotsuin for not getting a good look at _you_ when you had come in here...you're injured."

She whipped her head down to her hand, the one that still held the sword. Slowly switching the blade to her non-dominant hand, she winced as she felt the glove on that hand stick to what must have been an open gash in her left palm. The blood stained the white fabric, soiling the glove, and Miyako stared in quiet horror as she tried to recall when and how she hurt her hand.

Saiduq left the room while she was gaping at the open wound in her palm, and just as quickly returned with medical supplies. He tried to remove her glove to clean the wound, but Miyako retracted her hand. "I can cast Diarahan on myself." she states as she pulls a yellow JPs standard-issue cell phone from her coat pocket. She enters a command into the device. And goes right back to glaring at the open wound.

Saiduq waited for her patiently, watching her intently. Several silent minutes pass as nothing happened. "...Miya-"

"I. Can't. Heal." she snaps, voice strained as if she spunt all of her mana trying to close that one small wound. Saiduq motions her to sit in the open space on the couch and she complied. He proceeded to gingerly remove the blood-stained glove, and disinfect the gash.

"...I don't understand this…"

"Miyako Hotsuin." the former Septentrione started, "Allow me to attempt to gain insight to your ailment. Have you attempted to summon any demons since you had started jamming other summons?"

"I do not use any demons of my own." she answered tersely, jerking back at the sting of the antiseptic, "Not anymore, that is."

Not anymore since Canopus fell, that is. Alcor shakes his head at her statement.

"My control over the Dragon Stream is magnificent. I possibly far exceed Yamato-nii in skill. I have never been in a situation where I've needed to use demons in this world." she explained.

He tsked at her statement, and deciding that the gash was sufficiently cleaned, moved on to applying healing salve to the wound.

"I've always wanted to prove to my brother that I was the far superior of us two by abstaining from the use of summoned demons in battle, forcing myself to rely on my own strength. I am the only person in JPs that is even capable of such a task, and thus, this predicament of mine does not affect my own ability to fight...or at least, I _thought_ it didn't.:"

"Hindsight is a terrible thing, isn't it?" Saiduq chuckled, "Your own arrogance may be your downfall someday, Miyako Hotsuin. Let us hope that that day won't be today." He began wrapping her hand in gauze, "I am sure that Yamato Hotsuin respects your strength and skill, but do not allow some silly sibling rivalry to cripple your prowess in battle."

Miyako bit her lip. "You chastise me for not summoning contracted demons, but riddle me this, Saiduq: Hibiki tells me that you are no longer the only admin for Nicaea. You probably don't even have a cell phone of your own, do you? Why are you using archaic methods of healing when you were the one who developed the technology for humans to use healing magics?"

He smiled at her question. "Your inquiry is valid. However, that statement is not entirely true. I am still using Nicaea to protect myself. However, why would I voluntarily use my app around you after you tell me of your predicament? I would have risked it if your wounds were more severe, but for this? A few days of discomfort for you and bandages, and my summoning app will be fine." He rose from his spot on the floor, "Believe it or not, Miyako Hotsuin, the amount of demonic activity around this area is fairly high. This is why I selected this place as my home. I have been studying the demons in this habitat, so that I may glean knowledge on where they are still coming from, and so that I may learn and develop ways to better protect humanity. Nicaea can only do so much for the people now that the summon app's use is restricted to a few select and trustworthy individuals."

"Yes, I remember." Miyako piped up, shuddering at the memory of the public trial run of Nicaea version 2.4, which was a watered down version of the Nicaea she and JPs were used to, and many of the high level demons were unavailable and certain fusions were blocked from their use. Even with the weaker demons, the general public were prone to abusing the summon app for their own nefarious desires and three months into what was supposed to be a 2 year run, Yamato ordered Fumi to take the servers offline after the death tolls from the app's misuse spiked and made national headlines. The civilians were pissed at the turn of events, but frankly JPs personnel were up to their necks in D-cases and did not need to babysit rouge demon tamers on top of that.

"I get it, Saiduq. Even after being reborn in this world, you are still looking out for humanity. I am pleased that your ideals have not changed after all this time." Miyako conceded, his point was made, "...I'm still rather worried that I am unable to use my own cracked skills. Perhaps I am no more armed than a civilian."

"I am unsure of that, Miyako. I pose to you my next question, since you do not fight with your own summoned demons, and we now know that your own magic from the app is blocked as well. Can you still feel the flow of the Dragon Stream?"

Miyako closed her eyes in concentration for a few moments, feeling the thrum of energy through her veins, and reopened them, sighing audibly in relief. "I still do feel its energies, which is good, although our demonic culprit has been adversely affecting our barrier in the Sumida area. Even now, I can feel that it is weakening."

"The fact that you are still connected to the Dragon Stream is good, it means that you are not completely without protection." Saiduq noted, "However that second half of your sentence worries me."

"Understandable. I'm sure Hibiki has not had the time to visit you since this whole ordeal began. We've had our hands tied with tracking this demon."

"I've always been under the impression that I was not permitted to be privy to classified JPs information." he commented.

"Nonsense, Saiduq, you've always assisted the Hotsuin clan in the past. I am giving you permission to be involved in this D-case by seeking you out for guidance. Should you wish to be, that is."

"A little late on that, Miyako Hotsuin, but I am always happy to oblige." Saiduq smiled at her, helping her up, "Allow me to see your weapon for a moment. We must collect a sample of the blood before it dries."

She hands him her blade and Saiduq exited the room with it in tow. "Are we sure that it was not my own blood running from the gash in my palm?" she called after him.

He reenters the room with the sword minutes later, the blade cleaned off of any offending liquid, and a messenger bag slung over his shoulder.

"If Fumi Kanno has the time then she can run tests on this." he waved a small test tube with some of the blood in front of her face, "but either way you stated that your time here was short, and as much as I would like to stay here and theorize with you, it would do you no good to be this far away from Sumida."

The Hotsuin girl took note of the bag and returned her sword to its sheath. "...do you plan on tagging along, Saiduq?"

"It would be remiss of me to allow you to return to your base alone in your current condition. I would like to accompany you, if I may, Miyako Hotsuin."

She ponders for a moment, "But I won't steer you away from anything you're working on? If not, I would honestly appreciate the company."

"Always my pleasure to assist the Hotsuin clan." Saiduq declared, leading her out of his house.

"Um, Alcor, as glad as I am for for assistance in this, you're no longer a servant of the Hotsuin clan." Miyako pointed out.

"Then I am happy to oblige, as your _friend._ " he corrects himself and Miyako decidedly settled for that.

* * *

Whatever weird animosity that was brewing between Saiduq and Yamato before still lingered in the air as he and Miyako returned to the JPs base in the Tokyo Skytree. She didn't understand her brother sometimes. She and Saiduq made up in the last world. Couldn't they get over their own issues?

She guessed not. Yamato was a confrontational man, but she supposed that was a character flaw of his that couldn't go away no matter how many world regressions he had lived through.

"You brought _him_ with you?" Yamato sneered at the white haired man tailing Miyako.

"Yes, aniki, in fact I did. Do not be so sore about it."

Yamato growled. "Miyako, I-"

"Peace, Yamato Hotsuin. It was I who had insisted upon traveling with her." Saiduq spoke up, "It was for her own safety. Please. I do not wish any ill will upon you. Let bygones be bygones, Yamato Hotsuin."

Miyako knew that Alcor's manner of speaking would serve to irritate her brother further, instead of placating him like he had intended, but she also was aware that Yamato hadn't slept in over a day and was prone to bouts of ire. Perhaps she should have declined his generous offer to make sure she returned to base safely.

"Oh, is that Saiduq?"

Fumi emerged from whatever dungeon she was dwelling in and wobbled toward the group. "Hey, long time no see. I hear you've been doing some of your own studies. We must exchange data sometime."

The former Septentrione inclined his head to the researcher. "It is wonderful seeing you again as well, Fumi Kanno, I've been keeping busy with demonic and spiritual ventures. Yes, we must compare notes one day. And you as well, Yamato Hotsuin, even though you seem less than enthused."

He crossed his arms. "Honestly, I do not care what you do. Just do not dally here. This is not a social gathering," he glares pointedly at Fumi, "And there is still much that we do not know about the enemy."

"Oh, Chief, not to worry. Having Saiduq here could possibly allow us to gain even more insight to our situation. There's nothing wrong with having more than one brilliant mind to help out. I am only one person after all." Fumi stated.

"You have an entire department devoted to R&D, Kanno."

"But, but _Chieeeef_." Fumi whined, "You _always_ complain about how hard it is to find capable personnel. Another agent here is a dime a dozen, but _Saiduq_ is a well of knowledge worthy of tapping into."

"...fair enough." Yamato conceded, "But do not waste time with idle chatter, Kanno. It is 1810. Civilians are beginning to gather in the Karamachi Plaza."

"You do not need to tell us twice." Miyako winks at Fumi. How is her brother _not_ going to expect those two to catch up on demon research results?

"By the way, Miyako, your hand-"

"Yes, aniki, I am aware that it is bleeding!" She called after him as Fumi dragged her and Saiduq back towards his lab. "We've no time for idle chatter, brother, bye!"

Yamato rubbed at his temples. Can his migraine get any worse? Probably.

* * *

Ayame: This fic gets progressively more detailed the more ideas I have. This chapter was typed right after finishing 6, in about an hour! Let's see if I still got the steam to keep running. ?

I will not make any more promises I cannot keep, but know that I am trying not to keep you hanging. As always, thank you for the continued support. :D


	8. Phase 8

**Leave Nothing Behind**

Phase 8

It was a very, very difficult task to keep Fumi Kanno on track after her reunion with Saiduq, and as patient as she would normally be with them it was starting to grate on her nerves, Miyako had to admit. She had to frequently redirect the conversation between them from unrelated conjecture, to the current D-case they were dealing with.

Fumi, did, however, test the blood sample from Miyako's sword, and the results determined that the blood on the end of her blade was indeed the same foreign substance that she pulled off of Okamura's phone from before.

"So… what do we have here, truly?" Saiduq asks her, "Does this sample match anything that JPs had ever encountered before?"

"Nope." Fumi confirmed, "It's just as we feared. This is an unknown demon. But with this blood sample, along with your and Chieffy's testimonies we can put together a visual of our demon. Hypothetically."

"Do you think you have the answer?" Saiduq questioned.

"What I think I have is irrelevant to what I _know_ I have." was Fumi's reply. "I know that I still do not know what and where this being is. However, I can only guess as to where it will be. Two intelligent guesses, actually."

Saiduq looked amused. "Do share, Fumi Kanno."

"Guess number one. The demon _will_ appear in the Karamachi Plaza tonight. That much we know for certain. It's not even a guess at this point so much as a very likely possibility based on the recent barrier fluctuations and the demonic activity in this area up until now." Fumi began, fidgeting with the hem of her qipao. This was bound to be a long winded explanation, because _Fumi_.

"Well?" Miyako queried, "You said that you had two theories."

"I'm getting there." Fumi retorted, then continued her rambling, "This second theory may be reaching a little. However, I have reason to believe that wherever Chief Miyako will be, our demon will be as well."

Saiduq nodded in agreement.

"I'm not the only one who thinks this? Good."

Miyako is not convinced. "What is stopping this from being a self-fulfilling prophecy then? I could just position myself in the Karamachi Plaza around the time that the barrier would be at its weakest and either way the chances of encountering the enemy will be very high."

"True on all points." Saiduq noted, "However, I wonder if that is truly the best course of action to lure out your demon. The concert of Airi Ban and Hinako Kujou will surely attract many spectators. Are their lives worth the risk to lure it out?"

"As much as I hate to admit this, this thing is going to appear sometime tonight, with or without our intervention." Chief Hotsuin explains, "It is going to appear where we least want it, when we least want it, when JPs is at it's least prepared to deal with it. Note that Miss Sako spent a good half of the afternoon chasing the rogue phone that it stole around Yoyogi Park. Note that both my brother and Kuze have been tracking that thing since the very early morning hours, at the very end of their work shifts and instead of being able to go home to rest, they are still here because the barrier weakening like this is a very serious problem."

"It's too damn smart for it's own good." Fumi agreed.

"That brings the question to mind then, Miyako Hotsuin, since it is now about 1830. Will you deal with the problem when the problem arises? Or will you continue to seek preemptive countermeasures against it?" Saiduq questioned her.

She fiddled with her gloves. She hated being put on the spot like this.

"Well." she began, "Not to much more can be done that we haven't already done."

* * *

Yet after all of that talk, Yamato refused to position Miyako in the plaza along with the rest of the agents.

"You being in such close proximity with the other agents could compromise their ability to use the summon app." he reasoned, "Furthermore, if Kanno's theory about the demon only appearing where you are located proves to be truer than it being likely to show up at the venue, then I have all the more reason to keep you as far away from Karamachi as possible."

Miyako looked fit to protest, but Yamato wasn't having it. "Forgive me, but you will not be permitted to standby at the venue. I've arranged for a car to take you to Yoyogi Park, far away from here."

"Why Yoyogi?" Saiduq asked, and given the confused expression on everyone's faces, it was a perfectly reasonable question.

Hibiki spoke up. "Makoto and her team will rendezvous with you. Yoyogi Park is a wide open area and they had erected a temporary spiritual barrier during their attempts to quarantine Agent Ieyasu's phone. There will be enough space for you to avoid coming into direct contact with any other JPS agents, and you will not be completely defenseless - nor completely alone."

Saiduq covered his mouth with an open palm, his usual thoughtful expression. "Perhaps this is the wisest route for you to take, Miyako Hotsuin. If there is any chance that your rogue demon could be detained _away_ from the Skytree…"

"I see where you're going with this." Miyako finally conceded, "However, a rebuttal: We are playing into this thing's hands by splitting up our forces.

"Did you think I haven't already taken that into consideration?" Yamato countered, "The ideal situation for JPs is to engage the enemy away from the towers. You are going to Yoyogi Park."

It seemed as though Yamato was not willing to go about this any other way, and the more that Miyako argued it, the less time they had to prepare, and thus was willing to acquiesce to her brother's demands.

* * *

The time was approximately 1850.

The AiHina concert was due to begin in 10 minutes. Miyako was still about 20 minutes away from Yoyogi Park, and it did not help that she had already wasted enough time squabbling with her aniki prior to him needing to run the mission details by her, as if Miyako hadn't been actively involved with this mission since this morning.

Al Saiduq sat across from her in the limousine, legs crossed elegantly, and listening in on the conference call between Miyako, Yamato, and Makoto whose team was already dispatched in the park keeping watch on the temporary barrier. His accompaniment on the mission was by his insistence only due to Miyako's handicap, otherwise, she would have sent him home.

The readings from Makoto's radar seemed to indicate that _something_ , whether it be Ieyasu's phone or otherwise, was still inside the park with them.

"I have instructed the agents here with me not to utilize the summoning app within close proximity of Chief Miyako." Makoto's stern voice filled the silent air, and with it, a tense feeling washed over the vehicle's occupants. "We will be stationed around the perimeter, and will leave the central area for the Chief and Saiduq to patrol. After they enter, all exits will be sealed off by the barrier we've erected, and nothing will be allowed to enter or leave until the mission is complete on either front - or until daybreak."

Miyako winced at that. She wanted to nip this problem in the bud tonight.

"Excellent work, Sako." Yamato stated in a flat tone. His agents had already been dispersed among the gathering crowd in the plaza. Hibiki had apparently already informed Hinako and Airi that there would be a possible demon attack during their concert, and Miyako would have questioned the point in telling them except that Hibiki had already assured the team that the pop idols could distract the civilians and worst case scenario, get them to evacuate quickly if things were to go awry.

"You see, we are really, really counting on you to lure the demon away from Sumida!" she heard Hibiki exclaim in the background before Yamato snapped at him to get back to work. Lucky them. If Fumi was correct - and of course when is she ever _incorrect_? - then the agents in the Karamachi Plaza would have nothing to worry about, compared to her.

Saiduq gave a gentle, encouraging pat on Miyako's shoulder, startling her out of her reverie.

"There can be no room for error. The barrier is beginning to weaken again as the night falls. We must subdue this demon tonight!" Yamato declared, "Sako. Miyako. Fight well."

"Yes, sir."

"And you, brother."

"Always." was his curt reply, simple and straight to the point. Yamato seemed to be less concerned for himself. He must also have bought into the theory that the demon would appear where Miyako would be located. "Dismissed."

Miyako closed the cell phone and deposited it in her pocket. Neither she nor Saiduq uttered a word for the rest of the ride to Yoyogi.

* * *

Makoto, flanked by two other agents, greeted the limousine when it pulled up to the main entrance. She nodded quickly towards Saiduq in greeting. This was no time to socialize.

"We have already lost precious time, Chief." Makoto explains as the group passed through the large gate marking the park's entrance. The other JPs agents accompanying her began to work on sealing off that entrance and Miyako moves further away from them so as to not disrupt their summoning apps.

Miyako checks the time on her phone. 1915. They were already late.

Makoto stops at a wide intersection of sidewalk. If they continued straight down the path they were on, they would eventually come to a large building housing a recreational center. Of course, this was currently under construction, as was the entire South side of the park.

"A few more agents came from base to standby." Makoto explains quickly, "Bringing the number on my team up to 20. They are positioned around the perimeter, however, are close enough to that rec building that if you radio in for help they can come assist."

Miyako and Saiduq quickly check the park's map. The rec building appeared to be large enough to span from the south side towards the huge garden in the center.

"Most of the agents are on standby on the south side, where the radar had been picking up activity the most. I will be near the Main entrance on the west side. All civilians have been cleared from the park, and the only demonic activity present currently are the low level Fairy class demons that are native to this location… for now."

Makoto's warning did not go unheard. "I appreciate your diligence, Miss Sako. You may return to your post."

Makoto salutes her, "Best of luck to you, Chief. Saiduq."

She retreats back to the gate, and Miyako and Saiduq continue down past the intersection, towards the central garden area. Miyako could see the rec building looming in the background, and the streetlamps flickered on just as the last of the sun's rays disappeared over the horizon. The park began to be flooded in darkness.

Something was very off putting about that building. "How long had that been there?" Saiduq asked her?

"According to this map, it's very new." Miyako answered him, "Only up for about a month or so, and they are still working on installing some of the facilities inside. It has yet to be opened to the general public."

"And the South side, what is being installed over there?"

"The playground equipment that was there is being replaced, and much of the area is being renovated." she explains, "What? Have you not been to this park recently?"

Alcor looked amused, "No. This is my first time visiting this park."

"I see." Miyako stated, as she and Saiduq moved further into the large expanse of the garden. "Say, if we were to engage this demon in combat, how are you going to fight without the use of Nicaea?"

"Worry not about me, Miyako Hotsuin. I have my ways."

"Now is not the time to be all mysterious, Alcor!" she reprimanded him. Saiduq simply looked at her with a wistful expression, "I am being serious. If something unexpected were to happen-"

Famous last words.

It hit her like a truck, a sudden migraine, and her surroundings began to spin fast. Saiduq dashed forward to catch her before she hit the pavement, and walked her over to a nearby bench.

Her head felt like it was going to pop. The pulsing sensation, the lights in the park making it that much harder to see, and she shut her eyes to avoid it. She could not figure out what had happened and feared that keeping her eyes open would make her even more ill.

Saiduq kept his hold on Miyako, concern evident in his voice.

Miyako clamped down the urge to panic, but she knew somewhere that something was way _off_.

She could hear Saiduq speaking to her, but could not discern the individual words. It was if the sounds were muffled, far away through some kind of filter. She knew based on the fact she was still lying on the bench and had not fallen off that he still held her in place, but could barely register the warmth of his hands on her arms.

Miyako tried to open her mouth to inform him of this, but the only thing that came out was a garbled cry.

Saiduq had no idea what was going on with his charge, and went to dial Makoto on her phone when

\- **BLOCKED** -

"No way…" he stared at his cell phone in disbelief. The letters displayed, big and red on a black screen, and the phone would not recognize any of his inputs. "How did you render my entire phone useless, Miyako Hotsuin? I did not even open Nicaea…?"

But to Miyako, his question was barely heard, only the presence of a shrill ringing noise, at first, seemingly faint, then getting louder and louder in volume until her head threatened to explode and the world around her shattered as the most agonized scream escaped from her lips.

Saiduq tightened his grip on her, "Miya-"

The lights in the park went out, bathing them in total darkness.

* * *

Ayame: This chapter was a little longer than usual. I want to wrap this story up in the next Phase or two. I have been working on an unrelated DeSu2 oneshot on the side because the writer's block was strong with this one.

I take much of Yoyogi Park's interior structure from what I recall of SMT: Nocturne, as I both loved and hated that area in the game. Some inaccuracies may apply.

...damn those stars in the pop group name.


	9. Phase 9

**Ayame here.** SO. I am well aware it had been over a year since my last update. Truly I am sorry, but the end of this story is in sight and Phase 10 will also be uploaded tonight, with the final chapters to follow soon after. This was the original final chapter but was at least quadruple the length of what I've been posting so it had to be split. Enjoy!

* * *

 _~*~Previously on Leave Nothing Behind: Phase 8 ~*~_

 _Saiduq had no idea what was going on with his charge, and went to dial Makoto on her phone when_

 _-_ _ **BLOCKED**_ _-_

" _No way…" he stared at his cell phone in disbelief. The letters displayed, big and red on a black screen, and the phone would not recognize any of his inputs. "How did you render my entire phone useless, Miyako Hotsuin? I did not even open Nicaea…?"_

 _But to Miyako, his question was barely heard, only the presence of a shrill ringing noise, at first, seemingly faint, then getting louder and louder in volume until her head threatened to explode and the world around her shattered as the most agonized scream escaped from her lips._

 _Saiduq tightened his grip on her, "Miya-"_

 _The lights in the park went out, bathing them in total darkness._

 **Leave Nothing Behind**

Phase 9

Miyako stilled in Saiduq's arms as her crying died down. Yoyogi park was submerged in total blackness and Saiduq only had the dim backlight of his cell phone to make out anything with.

It was well past 1930 (when the clock function was last working he only assumed so since he last checked the time) and the sun had completely set in the sky, leaving them with the faintness of stars to see by. He could barely discern the discomfort on Miyako's face, and she wasn't responding to him. Saiduq wanted to call out to someone, anyone else, to see if another agent could come to their assistance, and was about to until he felt Miyako stir in his arms again.

She came to with an audible groan.

"Miyako Hotsuin." The man gently shook her by the shoulders, "Are you coherent? Can you hear me?"

She slowly pried open her eyelids, and blinked several times before she came to the realization that she could barely make out the shape of Saiduq's face and hair in the dim twilight. "...what? Did we lose power?"

Saiduq guided the chief to sit up unassisted on the bench, "I am not sure. You were unconscious for, I estimate at least 3 minutes. You blacked out and the lights went out shortly afterward. I tried to contact Makoto Sako over the phone, but." He holds up his cell phone for Miyako to see the BLOCKED status on the underlit screen.

"The cell phone is completely unusable?"

Saiduq nodded, a pointless gesture since she couldn't really see him too well in the dark. Miyako fumbled in her pocket to produce her own cell phone, to do what Saiduq could not, and with much frustration discovered her own cell phone displayed the BLOCKED text in red on black background.

"However I am blocking this must affect more than Nicaea." she surmised aloud, "And we have no idea if this has happened to any of the other agents here." She fumbled around to find the tablet in her coat pocket she had brought with her from base, the same kind Fumi was using to track the phones with.

"Aren't you more concerned with your physical state, Miyako Hotsuin?" Saiduq questioned, completely changing the subject, "You just collapsed after screaming in what I assume was agony."

Miyako stopped to assess her current condition. Now that she thought about it, _how_ did that sudden migraine come on? She felt mostly normal again, aside from the anxiety caused by the phone failure and sudden blackout. "... I believe whatever that was had passed. I don't know for sure, Saiduq, but with both of our phones unable to function, we need to find Sako or another agent here. I can only fight so well with a sword _in the dark._ "

Cue the sudden bloodcurdling scream that sounded out in the emptiness of the park, startling the two out of their reverie.

* * *

 **\- Karamachi Plaza -**

Hibiki had positioned himself behind the curtains of the stage set up for the AiHina stars concert. Not that he was actually _enjoying_ the concert, like he would have in his civilian days, but it was the highest vantage point in the plaza where he can overlook the crowd and keep an eye out for any unusual activity.

Both Airi and Hinako had been forewarned of the possible demon attack, and even though they both looked as though they were putting all of their energy into their performance, from experience with battling alongside them Hibiki could tell they were also hyper-vigilant. As Hinako had so eloquently put it earlier, "Like hell we're gonna let something happen to our fans. Not on my watch."

Yamato stationed himself closer to the back of the crowd, nearest the entrance to the Tokyo Skytree, where he could keep watch on anyone and anything that may enter or exit the building. A good number of JPs agents were scattered among the crowd, but not enough in close proximity that could alert any of the concert goers that something was amiss. Hibiki had even enlisted the help of Nitta and Shijima to help keep watch - why, he did not know since the agents already present were more than sufficient - or perhaps they were already going to be present at the concert and Hibiki just wanted the extra pairs of eyes. He supposed one could never have too much help.

Just then, his cell phone vibrated in his pocket. Kanno's number appeared on the caller ID, and he barked a quick "Chief Hotsuin" into the receiver.

"You'll never guess what happened, Chief." Fumi declared, in her usual roundabout way of getting to the point - though it had to have been important enough that she call him directly during the mission. Kanno was stationed in the command center, monitoring the Skytree barrier for any additional fluctuations or unusual activity, as well as keeping track of all of the agents with Miyako and Sako at Yoyogi Park. He let her continue, "There have been reports of a wide scale blackout in the northern half of Shibuya, which happened at approximately 1930, about 10 minutes ago."

Yamato was no fool. This did not bode well for Sako and her team. "How is this affecting the search party in Yoyogi?"

"Ya know, it's strange. I've tried calling both Makoto and Chief Miyako and both go straight to voicemail. I know their phones aren't off because I can still see everyone on the radar. Makoto is still positioned by the entrance, and various JPs personnel are staged around the perimeter of the park, all stationary. Chief Miyako and Saiduq are still near the central southern side, away from everyone else, and haven't moved in a while. I think the blackout is slowing everyone down considerably."

That was understandable, however Yamato knew that something wasn't right. Surely they had flashlights and their phones to see by, right?

As if Fumi could read his mind, she added, "I don't think anyone over there has access to Nicaea right now, either. All 22 phones are offline, including Saiduq."

It was at this point that Yamato knew he was wasting time in Karamachi plaza. The threat was most certainly in Yoyogi, with his sister.

Fumi spoke again, ignoring the silence on the other line - she knew Yamato was ruminating on this information. "While I believe that Chief Miyako and Makoto are competent enough to handle themselves, without Nicaea, they're gonna need backup-"

"We've no one to spare." Yamato interrupted her, "We've kept the majority of our agents here in the plaza to keep the civilian's safe. And Miyako can fight without the use of Nicaea-"

He was cut off by the sudden sound of glass shattering. He didn't immediately respond when he heard what sounded like Fumi dropping her cell phone on the tile. He listened intently to random shuffling noises, footsteps pounding on the floor, and heard shouting in the background. "Kanno? What is happening down there? Report."

A loud metallic clanging came out of the receiver and Yamato had to hold his phone away from his ear to keep it from hurting. It was then he felt it, a massive disturbance in the Dragon Stream surrounding the Tokyo Skytree, like a cold and prickling pressure against his skin. Had the barrier fallen? "Kanno?!"

Another clattering sound. "...sorry Chief, I had dropped my cell, but you or Hibiki need to come down to the command center, like, right now, it's kinda crazy down here right now!"

Yamato hung up. He didn't need nor want to hear her explanation for the racket when he was close enough to the entrance to investigate himself.

Hibiki could see Yamato's trademark messy silver mane, as he towered over the average person in the crowd he was pretty easy to see from the stage where he was keeping post toward the less populated area of the plaza. So of course Yamato made sure Hibiki made eye contact with him as he turned to leave. Hibiki wouldn't stop his chief. He pretty much figured that something was happening elsewhere to cause Yamato to leave Karamachi Plaza in such a rush.

Airi also spotted Yamato's hasty departure from the back of the crowd, and spared a concerned glance from her keyboard in Hibiki's direction off to the side of the stage. He waved her off, a gesture indicating that everything would be okay. Yamato entrusted him with the plaza because he was more than capable of protecting it on his own. And he wasn't alone - there were more than enough JPs agents here, plus Daichi and Io were close enough to the stage he could count on them to help out if the situation were to escalate. They could handle anything.

* * *

You probably don't want to know why it took me so long to get back to posting my work. However, someone had given me pointers about posting that I will take to heart for future fics so that there aren't huge lapses of time in between my updates.

The next chapter will be up shortly. I'm trying to bring closure to everyone involved in this mission!


	10. Phase 10

Ayame here. As a reminder, the previous chapter has also been uploaded just before this one, so if you haven't seen the fic since last year, go back a page.

* * *

 **Leave Nothing Behind**

Phase 10

 **-Tower, Lower Basement Level Command Center-**

There was no question in Yamato's mind what the hell had happened during his call with Kanno. JPs agents ran amok trying to erect a temporary barrier around the glass partition that had _shattered_ , and now exposed the magic circle it was housing. The energy that was contained was _visibly_ spilling out from the room, like a gray fog covering the floor, spreading further and further away from it's origin and closer to the door of the command center entrance.

"Seal off all exits!" the pale chief barked, and a few agents sped from across the room to complete the task. The energy leaking from the magic circle could not leave this room. If it were to exit the building and go outside, into the crowd, nothing would be able to stop demons from being attracted to the ambrosia of energy. With all of those civilians present it would be a massacre.

Dr. Yanagiya just entered the room in time from the infirmary to be shut in with them. She spun around to see an agent magically sealing the door she came from, and marched over to Kanno, who was monitoring the energy situation by the large monitor when the glass partition broke. "What on earth is happening?!"

"Sorry, Otome, but you came in at a bad time. Or is it a good time?" Fumi mused, "Anyway, the Chief just ordered all exits to be sealed. No one is getting in, and no one is getting out, including this energy from the magic circle." She points to the floor, and Otome peers down at her feet. Surely enough, the thick fog pools around her ankles like a cloud.

Her gaze settles on Yamato stepping over the broken glass into the room containing the magic circle, billowing smoke like a fog machine gone haywire.

"He's going to try to channel the Dragon Stream to repair the partition?" Otome questioned as her chief assumed the wide stance she had seen him use in battle before.

"He's gotta do something," Fumi remarked, returning to her seat and typing on her keyboard at furious speeds. "Hell, I'm not as spiritually adept as the Hotsuin family and I can _feel_ the barrier around the Skytree weakening. It is most certainly a direct result of the partition breaking. So I assume he's going to try to contain as much of the magic as he can with the Dragon Stream before something else happens we cannot control."

Otome gets a glimpse of a map on another monitor, displaying a large portion of the Shibuya district. The entire upper half was darkened. "Are you kidding me? There's a blackout in Yoyogi too?!"

"Whatever kind of demon this is, it isn't fucking around." Fumi stated without looking away from her own monitor. "We've been unable to contact the search party in Yoyogi Park, either, and all of their phones are offline. I don't know how or why, since no one but Saiduq had been anywhere near Chief Miyako when it had happened, but if no one in the park can access the demon summoning app… well, I need not explain just how bad that is." She heaved a heavy sigh, and turned to Otome, "But as much as I'd like to help them, we're about to be in some real trouble here."

"This demon is too smart for it's own good, dividing and distracting us." Otome replied, "We're waging a war on two fronts, and who even knows if the demon is near either of them."

* * *

 **-Karamachi Plaza-**

An agent in the command center remembered to text Hibiki regarding the situation with the magic circle amid the chaos below. It was during a break for the duo, where several of Hinako's backup dancers entertained the crowd so the girls could rest for a moment. Hibiki took a moment to brief them, along with the JPs agents nearby.

"There's a possibility of the barrier around the Skytree failing. So be prepared for anything, basically." he surmised, "Airi, Hinako, you guys are good. Keep performing, but if anyone spots anything wrong, I will signal to you that we need to evacuate the civilians."

"How do we get everyone out fast enough?" Airi asked him, "These people paid a lot for admittance to our show and aren't going to willingly leave. This concert is set to go until 2030 and we still have quite a bit of time left. Then you've got the stragglers who hang out in this area pretty late, and we usually stay behind for pictures and autographs."

Hinako patted her partner on the head. "Don't worry about it guys, I'm sure we'll figure something out. I'm really good at thinking on my feet. Hopefully I won't have to since my feet are getting pretty sore." she joked, and then turned serious, "I still have Nicaea on my cell, and so does Airi, so I promise you, our fans are safe with us."

"I want to believe that Yamato is doing all that he can to keep this barrier up. So let's put our faith in him that we're going to make it, at least until the crowd thins. We're not going to do anything to tip our demon off, though, if it does make an appearance here, it will be a golden opportunity to nip this problem in the bud." Hibiki concluded, "So act natural. You guys are doing great!"

"Were you actually on the lookout for this demon or were you distracted by the show?!" Hinako teased as she and Airi made their way back to the stage.

* * *

 **-Yoyogi Park, West Entrance-**

A grunt by the entrance with Makoto fumbled with the flashlight she brought with her. "I'd never thought we'd have to use this, Commander Sako. Usually the park has sufficient lighting even after closing hours."

"Well, a blackout would do that to you." Makoto tried to use her tablet to see, but the pale backlight could only do so much in the expanse of darkness. She had given up trying to use her phone after the phone became defunct. The agent with her had also lost the use of her phone, when it had displayed the BLOCKED status shortly before the lights had gone out. They had both tried restarting their phones, and tried to call back to base and contact any of the other agents in the park, but to no avail.

The only blessing was that Makoto could still account for everyone in the park with her using the gps tracking of the phones they had with them. In total, the total headcount of allied phones in the park after the Chief and Saiduq joined them just after 1900 was up to 22. As long as no one turned their phones off or their batteries died, or no one dropped their phones, she could keep track of everyone's location. The blackout had slowed everyone down considerably, especially once dusk turned to twilight, and twilight into pitch blackness. Not even the moon was visible overhead, and the only light they could see by was her tablet, and Agent Minami's flashlight. Makato was aware of at least 6 other agents who had Fumi's tracking tablets with them, and few more probably had the foresight to bring a flashlight with them like Agent Minami did. She hoped. According to the tablet, the yellow dots were mostly paired in teams of two scattered around the perimeter of the park, with the largest team of four on standby in the South side where all of the construction was. Everyone remained far apart at Chief Yamato's behest to keep everyone else far enough away from Chief Miyako as she and Saiduq searched the central garden area. They hadn't made it far from the rec center when the lights went out, and the South side of Yoyogi Park had to have been the darkest, as there were large buildings that obstructed the sky so that even the starlight was unusable.

Makoto and the agent by her side decided it was best to call off the search for the rogue phone while the park was submerged in darkness. The tablets would eventually run out of power, and without access to Nicaea - Makoto shuddered to think of what would happen if they were to encounter a hostile demon here. The Fairies native to the area had neutral attitudes towards humans _at best_ , and could not be counted on to assist anyone from JPs. They could try to move around and locate the other agents, but it would be difficult considering the size of the park and how spread out they were.

The barrier sealed all agents and demons in until Makoto would give them the command to dismantle it. Until she was able to actually contact the rest of her team, or the mission was complete, the barrier would remain. This, in some ways, was good, if in the event that the rogue phone was still in the vicinity of Yoyogi Park (although _finding_ it would be a whole other matter in the blackout altogether), but on the flip side, if there was a hostile demon inside the park, they were trapped inside with it, with no way to fight it or heal.

"This is quite the predicament," Makoto voiced her concerns to the younger agent with her, thankful that she wasn't alone, "The yellow dots on the radar tell me nothing about how anyone else is faring." she shows Agent Minami her screen, "I've seen some movement from them, but not nearly as much as before the blackout. Meanwhile there are still multiple traces of Agent Ieyasu's phone moving about the park in a random pattern," she gestured to one of four blue dots that was currently on the radar, one that was actually quite close to their current position, "And of course, the traces of demonic energy that Fumi had caught on the radar from the examples we had extracted earlier this afternoon." Makoto pointed to one of 3 red dots on the radar near the southern side of the park, by the partially constructed rec center. The team of four JPs agents were the ones closest to that dot and slowly moving north towards the garden, although it looked as if Miyako and Saiduq were heading south from the central garden area towards them as well.

"Is the Chief trying to rendezvous with the larger team?" Agent Minami inquired, pointing to their movement on the tablet, "I mean, it would only make sense, if they were directly in the center of the park, and as long as they didn't lose their bearings when the lights went out, for them to try to make it over to the agents closest to their starting position."

"Yes, it does. Chief Miyako has one of the tracking tablets with her as well." Makoto replied, "I'm hoping that they're able to assemble without any difficulty. Meanwhile we ourselves are pretty far away from everyone else further in the park. I feel as though we should stay put unless we absolutely have to move."

The younger agent swept the nearby area with her flashlight, which did little to chase away the expanse of darkness. "We'll be safe here...right?"

* * *

 **-Yoyogi Park, central garden path-**

To the best of their ability, Miyako and Saiduq made their way back to the path with the help of Miyako's tablet. There was no way to truly tell in which direction the scream came from, but as there was supposed to be a group of JPs agents not too far south of the rec building they were briskly walking towards, they took a chance and started heading in that general direction.

"I'm not too sure what all had been blocked on the phones but I'm thankful the tracking chips are still functioning properly." Miyako remarked.

"I cannot be certain that statement is entirely true, Miyako Hotsuin." said Saiduq, "JPs was chasing the faulty signal of a broken JPs phone prior to our arrival. Perhaps none of that information on your tracker is accurate."

"Perhaps." Miyako picked up the pace when she thought she heard voices in the distance, "But I am positive the scream came from this direction."

"HEEEEEY!" a male voice called out to them from further ahead in the darkness, "Is someone there?!"

Miyako's relief in finding another agent was audible in her voice, "Yes?! Where are you?! Are you on the garden path?"

Another voice, higher pitched, female, joined in, "Chief Hotsuin?! Oh thank god! We're off of the path, in the trees."

Miyako noted that their positions on the radar were approximately ten meters from the path they were on, and grabbed Saiduq by the arm as she carefully led him off the paved path. Several minutes of carefully weaving around trees and plants they spotted the dull shine of a flashlight.

"Chief Hotsuin!" The woman who called out to her earlier saluted (or she assumed she saluted, it was extremely dark in the wooded area) "Chief, one of our teammates is injured!" she directed the flashlight to another JPs agent who had been sitting on the ground, leaning against a tree. His skin had a sheen of sweat and his breathing labored. The flashlight also revealed a large set of gashes across his abdomen. Another agent had used fabric from part of him uniform to staunch the bleeding, but it barely remedied the gaping hole that was the deepest wound.

Saiduq immediately got to work trying to care for his wound, bringing out antiseptic and salve from his satchel, which was probably from the same first aid kit he had when he bandaged Miyako's hand earlier (thank goodness he brought it with him) and Miyako looked away from the injured agent to assess the situation. She then noticed something was off. "The radar showed a cluster of four phones. Why is there only three of you here?"

The uninjured male agent answered her, producing the standard yellow JPs-issued phone from his pocket that even she could recognize in the dismal lighting. "About that, Chief." He opened the cell for her to see what she had recognized as the BLOCKED status in red text, "This happened to all of our phones. We were ambushed by a demon, and were unable to use the demon summoning app to fight back. Himura had been slain by the enemy, and Watanabe here had been wounded, so we ran from the rec building into the woods to lose it."

Miyako internally cringed. So there _was_ a demon in the park with them. Which also meant that if the Auto-Shutoff function wasn't working, as evidenced by this agent taking the deceased' phone with him and it still tracking on the radar, then that could possibly mean that there may have been more agents slain that what showed on the tablet, and she would have no way of knowing. Without a way to contact Sako, she had no way of knowing if even _she_ was still alive. "Did you get a visual on the demon?" She addressed the woman with the flashlight, which was still pointed at the tree where Saiduq was trying to bandage the ailing agent's open flesh wound.

"Not really, Chief." she answered, "We were trying to escape it more so than engage in combat." Understandable. "I did get a glimpse of something, bright colors like white and maybe yellow, and large arms with wide hands. It clawed the hell out of Watanabe and we barely lost it running into the woods."

"Miyako Hotsuin…" Saiduq spoke up, "There's no mistaking it. With what I have seen behind you earlier, with the cell phones now defunct, I am almost certain that the demon they had encountered was _Cor Caroli._ "

She could not believe what she was hearing. There was just no way. Canopus was dead, _defeated_. The Miyako Hotsuin that was once half-Triangulum died in the regression. There were no Administrators. No stars. Only demons from the demonic plane existed in this world.

The other agents present probably had no clue what Saiduq was talking about. Without the Administrative Authority there was no way for them to remember the previous worlds where they were fighting the Septentriones and the Triangulum. And yet, with all that she had been through, with all that she had known to exist, would it really be beyond the realm of possibility that Cor Caroli could exist in this plane, as a demon? With her, living as a human?

"In which direction did you last see the demon?"

"Towards the rec center, but I have no clue where it headed afterward." The agent answers again, "I'm fairly certain we've gotten it off our trail."

Famous last words. At that moment the sound of heavy footsteps, pounding in the soft ground of the woods and snapping tree branches, followed by a slight vibration heading in their direction stopped all conversation. "Turn off the flashlight!" one of them whispered.

"There's no need," Miyako stated flatly, "She knows I'm here."


End file.
